The quality and the chemical composition of soybean seed are related to genetic factors, but they can be influenced by the environment. The seed coat, responsible for the protection of the internal organs of the seed, is normally yellow in color, but it can suffer variations from tonalities through natural mutation, showing brown or black color. The objective of this research was to verify the physiological quality and the chemical composition of soybean seeds, when the expression of brown color in the seed coat occurred, in the soybean cultivars such as Embrapa 48, BRS 156 and BRS 133. The imbibition test was carried out at three hour intervals in a 24 hour period; the physiological quality was evaluated by the following tests: germination, accelerated ageing and tetrazolium. The lignin percentage and protein concentration were determined. The expression of the brown color, in seeds of the same cultivar, affected the physiological quality positively, had the slowest imbebition speed and its chemical composition had the greatest concentration of lignin and protein content.
Glycine max; imbebition of seed; viability; lignin; protein
