Electrical conductivity test in evaluating the physiological potential of eggplant seeds

The physiological quality is one of the main objects of studies involving seeds, as they may suffer a series of degenerative changes of various types which lead to reduction of its vigor. To compensate the deficiencies of the germination test in the characterization of lots, vigor tests have been developed, which are already well characterized for the main crops, but recently applied to vegetables seeds. So, this study aimed to evaluate the use of electrical conductivity in the physiological potential of eggplant seeds. Four seed lots of eggplant cultivar 'Preta Comprida', were tested for germination, first count germination, seedling emergence, speed of emergence and accelerated aging. For the electrical conductivity were studied variations in the volume of water (50 and 75mL), temperature (25 and 30 degrees C), number of seeds (25 and 50) and imbibed (1, 2, 4, 6, 12, 18 and 24 hours). The electrical conductivity test was efficient for the eggplant seeds, and the soaking time can be reduced to four hours, but using 50 seeds failed to differentiate between batches. The volume of 25mL and 30 degrees C was the most favorable condition for the consistent ordering of the lots on the force. The best conditions for the electrical conductivity in eggplant seed is the use of 25 seeds in 50mL of water for four hours at 30 degrees C.