Appropriate Temperature and Time for an Accelerated Aging Vigor Test in Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) Seed

Abstract

Sesame is a small-seeded oil crop for which a proper method of testing seed vigor has not been successfully developed. This study was conducted to identify the appropriate combination of temperature and time for accelerated aging vigor testing of sesame. Five seed lots of sesame were used: KU 18 (2006), CPlus 2 (2006), KU 18 (2007), and CPlus 2 (2007), grown at the National Corn and Sorghum Research Center and KU 18 (Contract Farmer 2007), grown by a contract farmer. A completely randomized factorial design with four replications was used. The accelerated aging test was carried out at five different temperatures: 40, 41, 42, 43 and 44°C with six duration periods of 24, 48, 72, 96, 120 and 144 hr and a relative humidity of 100%. The results showed that accelerated aging under conditions of 42-43°C at 100 % RH for 120 hr were appropriate for an accelerated aging test for seed vigor in sesame.