Soybean seed, mainly from the state of Mato Grosso, savannah (cerrado) region, has presented cotyledons with partial degradation of chlorophyll. The consequence of this phenomenon has been the discard of many seed lots, as result of their low quality. This study was developed with the objective of investigating the influence played by chlorophyll, over the physiological quality of soybean seed. Two commercial seed lots (A and B) of the cultivar MG/BR46-Conquista, early maturing cycle, with 11,8% and 37,4% of green seeds, respectively were segmented into three samples: original seed, green seed and yellow seed. Each sample composed one treatment. Seed quality evaluation was determined by the germination test, accelerated aging (24 hours), tetrazolium test, seedling and radicle length, weight of a thousand seeds, electric conductivity, field emergence, all test performed at the time of planting. Green seed presented lower germination, viability and vigor, and a lower level of uniformity between the seedlings, a faster rate of deterioration, higher quantity of leachate, shorter plant length, lower one thousand seed weight, and a lower germination capacity in the field, independent of the quantity of the percentage of cotyledons with green pigmentation. However these losses were higher in the lot with 37.4% green seed. It can be concluded that chlorophyll is an indication of reduction of the physiological potential in soybean seeds.
Glycine max; green cotyledons; senescence; deterioration; chlorophyll
