CARACTERIZAÇÃO DE SEMENTES E EFICIÊNCIA AGRONÔMICA DO FEIJÃO ARROZ (Vigna umbellata [Thunb]. Ohwi & Ohashi)

Abstract

The rice bean [Vigna umbellata (Thunb.). Ohwi & Ohashi] is a species that has little genetically improved, presents great variety in seed size and production and therefore, it is believed that this variability would modulate seedling vigor. This work aimed to characterize by size the seeds produced by rice bean plants and investigate their relationships with seedling vigor and grain yield characteristics. Initially, three lots containing a thousand seedseach were removed, which were separated into different sizes in seed formats consisting of P (length 5.66 - 6.80mm and diameter 3.31 - 4.17mm), M (6.81 - 7.92mm and 4.18 - 4.56mm) and G (7.93- 9.22mm and 4.57 - 5.48mm). Subsequently, the seeds were sown in sand to carryout the emergence test. Under the experimental conditions carried out, it was found that rice beans produce more seeds of size P, but these produced less vigorous seedlings. It was found that larger seed size is associated with a higher chlorophyll content, indicating a greater photosynthetic capacity in seedlings from these larger seeds. Seeds from class G provided the production of a greater number of pods and grains and dry mass of pods and grains, without, however, showing any statistical difference in the mass of a thousand grains.