Factors Influencing the Deterioration of Groundnut Seed Quality and Its Implications on Storage Capacity

Abstract

The current study was aimed to investigate the factors influencing seed deterioration of groundnut with factorial CRD, the experiment was conducted at Department of Seed Science and Technology, Seed Research and Technology Centre, Professor Jaya Shankar Telangana Agricultural University during February 2022 to March 2023. Groundnut seeds from different harvesting windows (early, normal, and late) and varying seed moisture levels (8%, 10%, and 12%) were subjected to ambient storage for a year. They were then evaluated for seed moisture content, germination, and field emergence using three replicates of 100 seeds each. Results indicated that among the different seed moisture contents, seeds from the early harvesting window with 8% moisture content exhibited the highest germination rates, recording 76% after one year of storage. Conversely, seeds from the normal harvesting window with 12% seed moisture content showed the lowest germination percentages, with rates of 51% under similar conditions. The groundnut seeds displayed significant variation in germination rates both in 8% and 12 % seed moistures.