Effects of seed coat colour on the seed quality and initial seedling growth of red clover cultivars (Trifolium pratense)

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of seed coat colour on the seed quality of four red clover cultivars (germination, dormancy (hard seeds), dead seeds and initial seedling growth (vigour)) produced in Serbia over a period of two years. The seeds analyzed were first separated visually into bright, dark and mixed seed groups, followed by subsequent digital colour measurements. The results obtained showed that the seed coat colour of red clover could be considered a good indicator of seed quality and seedling growth ability. The results furthermore showed that bright-coloured seeds of red clover cultivars indicated increased vigour and seed quality compared to other colours. The impact of the production area and year on the seed quality parameters was inconclusive. A high variability in hard (CV = 22.22 %) and dead seeds (CV = 40.18 %) was recorded between different seed lots of red clover. A lower variability was found in the germination parameter of bright- and mixed-coloured seeds (CV = 4.53 % and CV = 8.53 %). The seed coat colour could be an important factor in determining the quality of red clover seeds, potentially increasing germination simply by removing dark-coloured seeds.

Cilj istraživanja bio je da se ispita uticaj boje semena četiri sorte crvene deteline proizvedene u Srbiji tokom dve godine na njihov kvalitet (klijanje, dormantnost (tvrdo seme), mrtvo seme i početni porast klijanaca (vigor)). U ovom istraživanju su prvo vizuelno razdvojena semena po boji, a zatim su razdvojena digitalnim kolor separatorom na svetla, tamna i mešovita. Rezultati su pokazali da boja semena crvene deteline može biti dobar pokazatelj kvaliteta semena i početnog porasta klijanaca. Rezultati su pokazali da su svetlo obojena semena sorte crvene deteline imala snažniji vigor i bolji kvalitet od drugih boja. Nije bilo jasnog zaključka o uticaju regiona i godine na praćene parametre kvaliteta semena. Zabeležena je visoka varijabilnost za tvrda (CV = 22,22%) i mrtva semena (CV = 40,18%) sorti crvene deteline. Za klijanje je zabeležena manja varijabilnost svetlih i mešovitih semena (CV = 4,53% i CV = 8,53%). Boja semena može biti značajan faktor kvaliteta semena crvene deteline i zbog toga je moguće povećati klijavost uklanjanjem tamno obojenih semena.