SEED QUALITY OF TWO CORCHORUS SPP. COLLECTED FROM DIFFERENT SOURCES IN BANGLADESH

Abstract

Bangladesh annually requires about five thousand metric tons of jute seeds to grow in about 0.81 million hectares of land. About 10-12% of jute seeds are produced under the supervision of the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) and the rest of the seeds are produced and managed by the farmers themselves. Due to prolonged stay in the field, this jute seed crop is affected by the traumatic events including drought, hailstorm, heavy shower, flood, diseases and insect pest infestation. This crop can become physiologically weak, leading to production of low yield of poor quality seeds. The study aimed to determine the quality of jute seeds collected from five different sources in Bangladesh. Two jute varieties, CVL-1 of Corchorus capsularis L. and O-9897 of C. olitorius L. were used as study materials. For both varieties, treatments were comprised from five different seed sources: Bangladesh Jute Research Institute (BJRI), Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC), farmers of two jute growing areas, and a local market. The experiments were laid out using completely randomized design with four replications. Results revealed that seeds from BJRI and BADC of both the jute varieties showed better quality in terms of vigor and pathogen incidence compared to seeds from farmers’ and local markets. BJRI and BADC seeds showed lower moisture content and inert matter whereas these two variables were high in farmers’ seed. Higher moisture content was associated with low germination and vigor index of farmers’ and market seeds for both jute varieties. Lower moisture content of BJRI and BADC seeds showed higher germination and vigor index. Seeds of both the varieties started to germinate within one day and more than 70 percent was recorded on the second day. The relationship among germination, vigor index and purity were significant and positive. Based on seed quality attributes observed, BJRI seeds seem to be the best than all other seeds tested.