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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Article
Maize Seeds Submitted to Thermotherapy and Analyzed by Dynamic Speckle
Author(s)
Lucas Sacramoni Peixoto, Gisela Maiara Silva, Armando Kazuo Fujii, João José Dias Parisi, Rosa Helena Aguiar and Juliana Aparecida Fracarolli
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DOI:10.17265/2161-6264/2018.02.005
Affiliation(s)
School of Agricultural Engineering, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Av. Cândido Rondon, 501, Campinas 13083-875, SP, Brazil
ABSTRACT
The quality of the seeds used for sowing is fundamental for a high
productivity and quality of the crop. Therefore, eradicating pathogens is
essential for the plant to develop in the best possible way. The eradication of
those pathogens can be accomplished by means of treatments that consist of the
application of substances to the seeds or by performing physical procedures.
Thermotherapy is a physical treatment, in which the seed is exposed to a given thermal energy, such as heated
air or steam, and can be highly efficient for controlling those pathogens, in
addition to reducing environmental damage and costs. The present work aimed to evaluate the
efficiency of thermotherapy in two ways: wet heat (water) and dry heat (water
vapor), both at 60 °C, alternating the
exposure time to the thermal sources. The treatment with humid heat with a time
of exposure of 5 min was the most efficient, since it presented higher
germination percentages (83%) and less occurrence of Fusarium sp. (33%). It was
observed that the most efficient thermotherapy is in the control of Fusarium, the most aggressive is for the
quality of the seed. The quality of the treatments was evaluated through
standard methodologies, according to the rules for seed analysis, such as
germination and sanitation tests. Biospeckle laser was used to identify
the microbial activity in these seeds, through activity maps generated by laser
speckle contrast analysis (LASCA) processing. In this way, the
research involving thermotherapy can be done by varying the temperature and the
time of exposure to obtain values that considerably reduce the pathogenic agents
and preserve the quality, in order to maintain the values of germination and
vigor acceptable for commercialization.
KEYWORDS
Thermal treatment, wet heat, dry heat, Fusarium, germination.
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