Accelerated ageing test to evaluate vigour in Jatropha curcas L. seeds

There is currently great interest in the cultivation of the Jatropha curcas L., known locally as physic nut, for the production of biodiesel, leading to an increase in the demand for seeds and precise information as to their physiological quality, especially vigour. The objective was to evaluate the efficiency of the accelerated ageing test, with variations, in verifying the vigour of Jatropha seeds. Four seed lots were initially characterized as to their physiological quality by germination and vigour tests. For accelerated ageing test, temperatures of 42 and 45 degrees C were tested during 48, 72 and 96 hours. The experiment was carried out in a completely randomized design and the averages of the treatments compared by Tukey test (p<0,05). The Pearson correlation coefficients for the results of accelerated ageing against results from the other tests were calculated. The accelerated ageing test at 42 or 45 degrees C for 48 hours is efficient to classify Jatropha seed lots according to vigour level.