It is feasible to establish a relationship between free water and seed conservation, through seed water and pure water vapour pressures, at the same temperature. A sorption isotherm describes the equilibrium of an amount of water sorbed by seed components and the vapour pressure or relative humidity, at a specific temperature. The main aim of this work was to analyze sorption isotherms for two Phaseolus vulgaris cultivar seeds. Seed moisture contents were adjusted, prior to storage, either by dehydration in desiccators over silica gel or rehydration over water. Seed sub sample weights were recorded periodically to control the amounts of removed or sorbed water. When corresponding weights to the desired seed moisture contents had been achieved, the process was over. Seed moisture content and water activityr determinations were carried out and different empirical equation models were used aiming at correlating experimental data of sorption isotherms of the seed samples. The best fit of the sorption isotherms was achieved through the Oswin 2-parameter model the and Peleg 4-parameter model for seeds of the Tibatã and Una cultivars, respectively.
water activity; seed moisture content; equilibrium relative humidity; mathematical models
