Table 1.
Effect of regular opening of hermetic bags on seed germination.a
| Grain moisture | Initialc | Duration of storageb (Sealed bags opened every 7 days) |
Duration of storage (sealed bags - not opened) b |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 weeks | 24 weeks | 24 weeks | ||
| 15 | 97.3 ± 0.7 | 96.7 ± 0.4 | 20.8 ± 1.5 | 41.1 ± 4.5 |
| 16 | 96.0 ± 2.0 | 47.3 ± 3.1 | 1.3 ± 0.3 | 14.7 ± 1.9 |
| 18 | 98.0 ± 0.0 | 71.7 ± 1.6 | 0 | 0.2 ± 0.2 |
| 20 | 98.7 ± 1.3 | 6.8 ± 2.0 | 0 | 0 |
a
Values are the means ± standard error.
b
For bags opened at 8 and 24 weeks period, samples of 150 seeds were collected from the top, middle, and bottom of each replicated bag (n = 450). The sealed bags (one per moisture) were sampled after 24 weeks of storage. Samples of 150 seeds were collected from the top, middle, and bottom.
c
For the initial germination, 150 seeds were tested for each moisture.