This work aimed to evaluate the protein content as an aiding tool in the determination of the physiological quality of rice seeds, as well as to correlate the results with field emergence. Six lots of rice seeds were used, i. e., three lots were of cultivar IRGA 417 and three of IRGA 422 CL, which were submitted to a set of tests in order to measure the following physiological qualities of the lots: germination, first count germination, accelerated aging, cold test (without soil), length and dry mass of seedlings. After determining the initial quality of the lots, a new set of tests such as crude protein content and seedlings and plants evaluations in the field were carried out. It was concluded that crude protein content is capable to identify differences between rice lots with different seed quality and to correlate with field emergence when under adverse conditions; therefore, it is a promising determination as an aid to conventional tests in the evaluation of the physiological potential of the rice seeds.
vigor test; germination; Oryza sativa L.
