Physiology and sanity of soybean seeds using electromagnetic waves

Abstract

The objective of this work was to verify the effect of electromagnetic waves on the sanitary and physiological quality of soybean seeds. The seeds were submitted to different exposure periods (0, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, 140 and 160 seconds), under electromagnetic waves with power of 900 W and frequency of 2.45 GHz, using the micro-ondas and the fungicide dicarboximide (250 g. 100 kg-1 of seeds), as an additional treatment. For the sanity test, 200 seeds were used per treatment, distributed in ten seeds per Petri dish. In the physiological test, 200 seeds per treatment were also used, distributed in 50 seeds per Germitest paper. The experimental design used was completely randomized, with ten treatments and four replications of 50 seeds each. The fungi, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Penicillium sp. and Fusarium sp. All periods of exposure to electromagnetic waves were efficient in reducing fungi identified in seeds. The sanitary and physiological quality was favored when the soybean seeds were exposed for up to 60 seconds, under a power of 900 W and a frequency of 2.45 GHz. The exposure of soybean seeds in periods longer than 80 seconds, under conditions of potency and frequency studied, had a negative effect on the percentage of hard seeds.