Inga seeds have short life under natural conditions, often lower than 15 days. Since, the germination tests for these seeds last 7-15 days, they are inefficient to separate seed lots for processing and storage. This research was carried out to verify the efficacy of the electrical conductivity test to determine the physiological seed quality of I. uruguensis. Fruits were collected at three dates, directly from the trees or from the ground, forming six sublots of different quality. All of them were stored for 80 days in wet vermiculite and in a cold chamber. Seed quality was evaluated every 20 days. The results confirmed the test efficacy to separate of seed lots in three categories: high (more than 50% germination), intermediate (germination between 10 and 40%) and poor (less than 10% germination) qualities that corresponded, respectively, to 0-25, 25-60 and up 60 mS.g of dry weight-1.cm-1.
seed quality; quick estimation; recalcitrant seed