Improvement of Seed Germination Performance of Stored Commercial Pepper Seed Lots with Chlorophyll Fluorescence Sorting Method

This work was conducted to investigate whether Chlorophyll Fluorescence (CF) sorting method enhanced the seed germination and vigor (mean germination time) of stored (aged) commercial seed lots of four different pepper cultivars. Seeds were stored hermetically for 6 and 12 months at -18, 5 and 25°C with 8.0±0.2% of seed moisture. Laboratory germination and mean germination time were determined on stored and CF-sorted and unsorted seed subsamples. Results indicated that CF-sorting significantly increased laboratory germination (p<0.05), and reduced mean germination time (p<0.05). CF-sorted seeds from fractions with low CF had higher germination performance than unsorted ones. It can be concluded that CF as a non-destructive sorting technology has the potential to upgrade the quality of stored, aged pepper seed lots.