Field Germination Characteristics of Sunflower Seeds by the Influence of Seed Coat Color, Harvest Date and Drying Speed

Abstract

A field experiment was carried out in the experimental fields of the College of Agriculture, University of Diyala, during the fall season of 2021. In order to study the effect of seed coat color, harvest moisture and drying temperature on the field emergence characteristics of sunflower seeds. The field experiment was carried out by RCBD design with three replications and with three factors such as the first factor four colors of the sunflower seed coat (black and brown striped with white and white striped with black and white) for the oily cultivar Shamus, and the second factor of three harvest moisture (16-25, 26-35 and 36-45%) and the factor The third included three levels of drying temperature [placing the seeds in an oven at temperatures (40 and 50) and air drying as a comparison treatment until the standard humidity is reached (14%)]. The results showed the superiority of seeds with black cover color and harvest moisture (26-35%), as it gave the highest rate for the characteristics of the number of days up to the first emergence, the number of days to the last emergence, the duration of the emergence, the percentage of field emergence, the index of germination rate, the energy of emergence and the daily field emergence rate. The harvest moisture (16-25%) and air drying temperature were superior to the average germination time. The drying temperature (40°C) was superior for the characteristics of the number of days to the first emergence, the number of days to the last emergence, the field emergence percentage, the index of germination rate, the emergence energy and the daily field emergence rate.