The use of the so-called farm-saved seeds is common in the Center -West of Brazil. The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of soybean seeds produced, harvested and stored by a seed company and the seeds produced without following the technical production procedures. The experimental units used for production of commercial seeds were harvested as soon as they reached field maturity with 16.3% moisture content. They were treated with four applications of insecticides during their cycle for stink-bug control and were harvested using a axial flow combine operating at a speed of 500 rpm, while the other experimental units were harvested with moisture content of 14.7 and 12.3% and were treated only with three applications of insecticide. They were harvested using a concave -cylinder combine operating at a speed of 700 rpm. After harvesting several conditioning procedures including drying, processing and storage were used for the commercial and the farm-saved seeds. At the beginning and end of the storage period, all the experimental units were evaluated for the following parameters: germination , tetrazolium viability , seed exudate pH, accelerated aging, seedling development, tetrazolium 1-3 (vigor), first count of the germination test. Based on the results the following conclusion were taken: 1- commercial seeds produced in accordance with the technical recommendations of production presented superior physiological quality; the physiological quality of materials conducted as grains were negatively affected by storage.
Glicyne max; physiological quality; seed production; farm saved seeds
