Assessment of Germination and Vigour of Sesame Seeds from Four Storage Environments at Different Periods

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is an important oil-crop, however, its seeds deteriorate rapidly after harvest from the field. The objective of this study was to assess the germination and vigour of sesame seeds from different storage environments at different periods. The experiment was arranged in 2 x 3 x 4 factorial using completely randomized design (CRD) in three replication. The laboratory experiment was carried out at The National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (NACGRAB) Ibadan, Nigeria starting from April to October 2015. The stored seed samples were drawn at three-month intervals and evaluated for germination and germination index. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that effects of accession and accession by storage environment interaction were significant (P=.05) while effects of storage environments, storage periods, storage periods by environments and storage periods by accessions interactions were highly significant (P<.01) on germination of sesame seeds. Similarly, effects of the storage environment and storage period by environment interactions were significant (P=.05) while effects of storage period and accession by storage environment interactions were highly significant (P<.01) on germination index. Seeds stored under ambient conditions gave the lowest germination percentage (65%), while seeds stored in freezer gave the highest germination percentage (81.2%). The germination percentages of seeds stored under short (73.8%) and medium (72.1%) term conditions were not significantly different. Moreover, germination index for seeds stored under ambient conditions was highest (5.6 days) and significantly higher than germination index for seeds stored under short-term (5.4 days) conditions. The germination index for the seeds stored under medium (5.2 days) and freezer (5.2 days) conditions were not significantly different. The study concludes that freezer compartment at -4 to -2°C temperature was the best storage environment and could retain germination and vigour of sesame seeds for longer period than other storage environments.