The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of osmotic conditioning on the germination and vigor of sorghum seeds with different physiological qualities from the IPA 1011 cultivar. The experimental design was completely randomized with four replications in a factorial 2 x 2, consisting of four treatments: 1. aged seeds, 2. seed not aged, 3. seeds aged and conditioned osmotically and 4. seeds not aged and conditioned osmotically. The seeds quality was evaluated from the water content (WC), mass of thousand seeds (MTS), the first germination count (FGC) standart germination test (SGT), germination speed index (GSI), germination mean time (GMT ), accelerated aging test (AAT), cold test (CT), electrical conductivity test (ECT) and leaching of potassium test (LPT). The results showed that artificial aging negatively affects the performance of sorghum seeds and such effects can be partially reversed by priming. This technique does not influence germination but further benefits vigor in physiologically superior and inferior seeds.
Sorghum bicolor; osmotic conditioning; germination potential
