| Summary: | A study was conducted at the School of Sustainable Agriculture, Universiti Malaysia Sabah from September 2010 to February 2011 to investigate the effect of storage
conditions and packaging materials on paddy seeds quality variety TQR-2. Paddy seeds variety TQR-2 collected were stored under 3 different conditions: ambient room condition (28-33 °C & RH 70-85%), air-conditioned room (25-27 °C & RH 68-81%) and freezer condition (5-15 °C & RH 12-40%). The seeds were packed in 4 different types of materials including Polypropylene bags, Jute bags, Flour bags and Polyethylene bags for a period of 5 months. The experiment was designed 3 X 4 Factorial in CRB (Complete Randomized Design) consisting of 2 factors: packaging materials and storage conditions. Germination test was carried out every two weeks interval. Seed quality parameters evaluated including seed germination percentage, percentage of normal seedlings, abnormal seedlings, dead seedlings, infested seedlings, seedlings with plumule, radicles, leaves and secondary roots, seedlings height and primary root length. Results were analyzed using two ways ANOVA repeated measures. At the end of 22 weeks, freezer condition (94.33%) and air-conditioned room (88.42%) maintained the highest
percentage of germination rate compared to ambient room condition which varied from 97.25% to 40.67%. Both storage conditions also recorded with the highest percentage
of normal seedlings, seedlings with plumules, radicles, leaves and secondary roots and the lowest percentage of dead seedlings and infested seedlings. In ambient room
conditions, seeds packed in polyethylene bags (54.67%) showed higher germination rate if compared to the polypropylene bags (36.67%), jute bags (39.67%) and cloth bags (31.67%). Based on the findings of this study, paddy seed variety TQR-2 can be stored safely for more than 2 months in ambient room with lined polyethylene bags.
The storability can be extended to more than 5 months in both freezer and air-conditioned room with any of the packaging materials used.
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