NO SEED DORMANCY IN MEXICAN MALTING BARLEY (Hordeum vulgare L.) GENOTYPES

Dormancy is considered as null germination of viable seeds, although they are placed under optimum conditions for germination. A newly ripened seed cannot germinate under favorable conditions, but it can do so after a short storage period. In the brewing industry, germination capacity of barley seeds is related to the quality of malt obtained at the end of the malting process. In this research the germination process of ten malting barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) genotypes was studied from physiological maturity until they reached a germination percentage above 90 %. The standard germination test was established in a germination chamber under continuous temperature of 25 degrees C, using four replications of 100 seeds per sample; the seed moisture content was also determined before thwe germination test. A randomized complete experimental design was used. Results showed a different germination rates among genotypes and among samplings started from physiological maturity. Therefore, the malting barley genotypes evaluated here have no seed dormancy because seed germination occurred even at physiological maturity. The storage time for obtaining more than 90% germination was 21 d after physiological maturity, except for the genotypes M-173, Alina and Armida that required 28 d.