The objective of the present research was to study the combination of time and temperature on the suitability of the controlled deterioration test for evaluating the vigor of maize seed with different water contents. Eight seed lots of hybrid maize CO32 were used, whose initial quality was determined by the following tests: water content, thousand seed weight, electric conductivity, germination, first germination count, seedling total dry matter and of the aerial parts and roots, cold test, accelerated aging, tetrazolium, emergence and rate of emergence in the field. The initial moisture content of seed lots was adjusted by immersion in water to 15, 20 and 25%. Nine combinations of periods (16, 24 and 48 hours) and deterioration temperatures (42, 45 and 48 °C) were evaluated for each water content. After deterioration, the water content and percentage of germination were determined and the data submitted to ANOVA with means compared by the Tukey test and a correlation analysis to 5% in a factorial 9x8, with nine combinations of temperature and time and eight seed lots. The combinations 24-45 °C, 48-45 °C and 16-45 °C for seeds with water contents adjusted to 15, 20 and 25% respectively, are efficient for evaluating maize seed vigor using a controlled deterioration test.
Zea mays; seed analysis; potential physiological; germination
