Hard seeds ocurrence during velvet bean maturation

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to study the occurrence of hard seeds during velvet bean maturation as influenced by pod position in the raceme and seed size, after their drying in intact pods. Starting 35 days after flowering (DAF), racemes were weekly harvested until 98 DAF. In each harvest, pods were separated as to their position in the raceme: those of the apical-half and those of the basal-half. These pods were then made to dry under room conditions. The seeds extracted from the dried pods were classified as to width (< 28/64” and ≥ 28/64”) and as to thickness (< 8/64” x 3/4” and ≥ 8/64”x 3/4”). Then, they were submitted to a germination test and the percentage of hard seeds evaluated. The largest proportion of hard seeds were found in light green and green-yellowish pods and in those located in the apical-half of the raceme, because they had more immature and smaller seeds. Additional keywords: Mucuna aterrima; seed classification; pod position; legume.