Effect of storage time on canola seed quality

Abstract

The quality of four varieties of canola was evaluated  in Metepec, Estado de Mexico, during 2013, under  laboratory and greenhouse conditions; two introduced:  hybrid Hyola 401 and Monty (free pollination variety),  and two varieties of free pollination obtained in Mexico:  Canomex and Aztecan, which were stored in Metepec  at room temperature for periods of 1, 2, 4, and 5 years.  Four variables of physiological quality were determined:  viability, germination percentage, emergency speed and  total emergency, and two of physical quality: thousand  seeds weight and volumetric weight. Varieties were  compared in three groups; the first one, which included  the four varieties, Aztecan and Hyola 401 were superior in  most of the seed quality variables evaluated. In the second  group conformed by Hyola 401 and Monty, the hybrid was  significantly superior in all the quantified characteristics.  In a third group the Aztecan and Canomex varieties were  compared, with Aztecan resulting superior in most of the  evaluated variables. Other relevant results were: 1) total  emergence, as an indicator of vigor and establishment in the field, positively correlated with seed viability (r=  0.84), germination (r= 0.84), and emergency rate index (r=  0.86); 2) local varieties show greater similarities than those  introduced, probably because the former share common  parents, while the introduced ones have different genetic  origins: Canada and Australia; and 3) the quality of canola  seeds stored under natural conditions showed accelerated  deterioration after one year of storage, which showed  different magnitudes between the four varieties.