The objective of this study was to evaluate the production, and the physical and physiological quality of ‘BRS Aleppo’ chickpea seeds in the city of Montes Claros, Minas Gerais State, and their ideal harvest point. A randomized complete block design was used, in a 3x5 factorial arrangement, with three sowing periods (May 12th, June 23rd and July 22nd 2015) and five harvest seasons (100, 107, 114, 121 and 128 days after sowing) with seven replications. The following productive parameters were determined: number of seeds, number of empty pods, production and yield. For seed quality evaluations, the completely randomized design was used. The following evaluations were done: seed moisture content, dry matter, biometry, 1,000-seed weight and germination. For the harvest season factor, data were submitted to analysis of variance and comparisons average by Tukey’s test (p<0.05). The regression analysis was performed and coefficients were tested with the t-test. Seed production was higher when sowing was done in May and when the harvest was performed close to 114 days after sowing, with a yield reaching 5.31 ton/ha-1 and 10.7% seed moisture content. If sowing is delayed, there is a risk of rainfall during the harvest season, and seed quality is compromised.

Quick tests are essential tools to evaluate seed quality. The objective of this study was to adapt the methodology of tetrazolium test, by identifying the most suitable pre-conditioning parameters of imbibition temperature and duration, and tetrazolium solution concentrations, in order to assess the physiological quality of chickpea seeds. Also, this work proposed the separation of lots in classes, according to the viability and vigor of the seeds. Three lots of chickpeas (lot 1 - BRS Aleppo C1, lot 2 - BRS Aleppo basic, and lot 3 - Cicero) were evaluated. They were analyzed according to three combinations of imbibition temperature and duration (41 °C for 4 hours, 41 ºC for 6 hours, and 30 ºC for 18 hours) and two tetrazolium concentrations (0.1% and 0.5%). The imbibition at 41 °C for 4 or 6 hours, and at 30 ºC for 18 hours allowed clear visualization of injuries in the seeds after immersion in 0.1% tetrazolium solution. The intense coloration formed by the 0.5% solution of this salt prevented the differentiation of the types of damage. In addition, it was possible to separate the seeds into four classes: class I (viable and vigorous, without damages), class II (viable and vigorous, with superficial injuries), class III (viable and non-vigorous), and class IV (non-viable).

As cultivares foram Gigante Jaíba, Compridogrande rio, Morro redondo e Comprido verde-claro. Determinou-se o teor de umidade, massa de mil sementes, massa fresca e massa seca dos frutos e sementes, germinação, emergência, contagem de plântulas normais, além do índice de velocidade de germinação e emergência. O delineamento experimental foi inteiramente casualizado com quatro repetições. Os resultados foram submetidos à análise de variância, adotando-seo teste de Tukey a 5% de probabilidade. A cultivar Gigante Jaíba destacou-se por apresentar os maiores resultados para massa frescae seca e massa de mil sementes. Os testes de germinação e vigor foi possível separar as sementes das cultivares em diferentes níveis de qualidade fisiológica, destacando-se as cultivares Gigante Jaíba e Comprido grande rio.

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