The Effect of Accelerated Aging of Sorghum Seeds on Seedling Vigour

Sorghum seeds of uniform size from a single seed lot were subjected to accelerated aging treatment for different periods of time to give 6 levels of vigour and the number of panicles of the plants grown from this seed was determined at 67, 74 and 115 days after sowing. Seed aged for 6 days showed increased vigour, as indicated by a 20% increase in panicle number, but vigour declined progressively thereafter as the duration of aging treatment extended up to 48 days. All seed lots showed 88-92% germination or germination capacity in laboratory tests, but this was poorly correlated with vigour. However, vigour was closely correlated with germination rate and root emergence as tested in the laboratory and with emergence rate in the field