The use of high quality seeds is one of the important factors to increase productivity in areas cultivated with sunflower. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between internal morphology and germination of sunflower seeds with the X-ray test and computer-aided X-ray imaging analysis with the software Tomato Analyzer®, and check whether or not this relationship changes after a period of seed storage under different environmental conditions. For this purpose, five lots of sunflower seeds from cultivar Catissol 01 were used. They were evaluated during two experimental periods: at 0 and 4 months after storage; the first evaluation was performed to characterize the lots; after that, the seeds were stored in two environments, cold and dry chamber (10 °C and 30% relative air humidity) and non-controlled environment. The seed moisture content was determined and, after that, the seeds were submitted to the X-ray and germination tests. The X-ray analysis allowed the visualization of seed internal structure as well as the study between seed morphology and germination; the greater embryo size, in general, does not provide greater potential for seed germination; regardless of the storage conditions for the four-month period, there was no reduction in the area of the embryo.
Helianthus annus; images; X-ray