Karnataka J. Agric. Sci.

,20(3), (501-505): 2007

Influence of Containers on Storability of Chilli Seed*

RAVI HUNJE, B. S. VYAKARNAHAL AND B. B. CHANNAPPAGOUDAR

Department of Seed Science and Technology

University of Agricultural Sciences,Dharwad - 580 005, Karnataka, India
E mail : ravihunje@rediffmail.com

(Received : September, 2006)

Abstract :Byadagi kaddi variety performed better over Dyavanur local chilli during storage. Among the containers, seeds stored
in sealed container like aluminium foil recorded significantly higher seed germination (82.83%), field emergence (76.67%), root
length (6.85cm), shoot length (6.38cm), vigour index (1076) and lower seed leachate values (1.579 dSm-1) followed by the seeds
stored in 700 gauge polythene bag compared to the seeds stored in fruit form, cloth bag, paper bag and polythene bag (400 guage)
through out the storage period. The storing of seeds in fruit form also recorded superior seed quality parameters at the end of
storage period. The seeds of Byadagi kaddi variety stored in aluminium foil recorded significantly higher seed quality parameters
throughout and also at the end of 20 mmonths of storage period compared to Dyavanur local variety seeds stored in all these
containers.

Key words: Containers, storability, quality, chilli

Introduction
Chilli is an important spice crop of subtropic and tropics
where both ripe and unripe fruits are used for culinary purposes.
Success of crop production commences with the use of high
quality seeds, which comprise of high viability and vigour. Seed
viability and storability are largely dependent upon seed
moisture, relative humidity and temperature. High seed moisture
and high temperature would hasten the process of seed
deterioration resulting in loss of seed viability. Seed longevity
is generally determined by pre-harvest factors and storage
environment. In certain vegetable crops like cucurbits, seeds
stored as such in fruit form till next growing season. This, not
only preserves germinability but is also beneficial in the absence
of refrigeration. However, such information is not available in
chilli. The use of sealed containers has also been reported to
maintain seed viability and vigour. The most of chilli seeds are
packed in cloth or gunny bag. Both of these containers are
permeable to moisture. The seeds when stored in ambient
condition loose their viability and cause great economic loss to
chilli growers. This investigation was carried out with a view to
study the storage behaviour of chilli seed in fruit form, moisture
pervious and impervious container and kept in ambient condition
which aimed to develop low input technology suitable under
resource limitation.
Material and Methods
A storage experiment was carried out for 20 months
from 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 at the Seed Unit of the Main
Agricultural Research Station, University of Agricultural
Sciences, Dharwad. There were 12 treatment combinations,
* Part of Ph. D. thesis submitted by the senior author to the University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad - 580 005, India.
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comprising of two chilli varieties viz., Byadagi kaddi (V1) and
Dyavanur Local (V2) and six containers viz., fruits stored in
cloth bag (C1), seeds stored in cloth bag (C2), seeds stored in
paper bag (C3), seeds stored in 400-guage polythene bag (C4),
seeds stored in 700 gauge polythene bag (C5) and seeds stored
in aluminium foil (C6) with four replications and laid out in
completely randomized block design. These containers were
kept in ambient condition. The observations were recorded on
seed quality parameters such as seed germination (%), field
emergence (%), root length (cm), shoot length (cm), vigour index
and electrical conductivity (EC) of seed leachate (dSm-1) once
in four months. The standard germination test, seedling vigour
index and EC of seed leachate were determined by adopting
standard procedure in vogue. The results were statistically
analyzed and presented in tables 1, 2 and 3.
Results and Discussion
Seed storage containers influenced the seed storability
at different storage environment. Generally, seeds stored in
moisture impervious containers (aluminium foil and polythene
bag) stored better compared to moisture pervious (cloth bag,
paper bag and fruit form) under ambient conditions with low
seed moisture. The results in the present study revealed that
the seeds stored in aluminium foil and polythene bag (700 guage)
were significantly superior in maintaining the viability and vigour
compared to the seeds stored in cloth bag and polythene bag
(400 guage) throughout the storage period. The seeds stored in
aluminium foil and in polythene bag 700 guage recorded higher
germination with low reduction in germination percent compared
to other containers throughout the storage (Table 1). The highest
reduction in germination percent was observed in the seeds
Karnataka Journal of Agricultural Sciences : 20(3) , 2007

stored in cloth bag (81.17 to 51.00). Similar trend in reduction
of field emergence was also observed due to containers during
storage. The lower reduction in field emergence percent was
noticed in aluminium foil (83.33 to 76.67) and higher in cloth bag
(75.83 to 38.33). The germination (85.67 to 66.00%) and field
emergence (81.67 to 53.16%) were significantly higher in fruit
form storage compared to cloth bag (Table 1). Superiority of
seeds stored in aluminium foil and polythene bag for germination
and field emergence was due to lower rate of deterioration as
these containers are moisture impervious which did not allow
movement of vapour form of moisture from the environment
and thus seeds did not deteriorate at faster rate. Similar results
were reported by Doijode (1996) in chilli, Jayaraj et al. (1988) in
tomato, chilli and brinjal and Sharma et al. (1998) in chilli varieties.
The seeds in fruit form storage recorded higher germination and
field emergence because the seeds dried together with fruit
pulp. This kind of storage helps in slow translocation of
metabolites from the pulp to seed. Murthy and Murthy
(1961) suggested that farmers should store the fruits for
seed purpose than the extracted seeds. S i g n i f i c a n t
differences in root length, shoot length and vigour index
were observed due to containers throughout the storage
period. Aluminium foil recorded significantly higher root
length (9.72-6.85 cm), shoot length, and vigour index
followed by polythene bag (700 guage) over cloth bag. The
seeds stored in fruit form also gave superior in quality parameters
compared to cloth bag. These results are in agreement with the
reports of Anuja Gupta et al. (1992) and Sharma et al. (1998) in
chilli. Significant variation in electrical conductivity of seed
leachate was noticed due to containers at all the months of
storage. The electrical conductivity of seed leachate gradually
increased with progressive months of storage in all the
containers. At the end of storage period, the lowest electrical
conductivity of seed leachate was recorded in aluminium foil
and polythene bag (700 gauge) and the highest electrical
conductivity increase in the seeds stored in cloth bag. This is
because of maintenance of membrane integrity which allowed
lower physiological and biochemical processes in the seed by

Table 1. Influence of containers on germination and field emergence of chilli seed during storage
Germination (%) Field emergence (%)
Storage (months) Storage (months)
4 8 12 16 20 4 8 12 16 20
Varieties (V)
V1 87.00 83.61 77.39) 73.28 66.38 81.61 76.78 73.05 66.39 58.22
(68.98)* (65.42) (61.92 (59.19) (54.90) (64.66) (60.93) (48.43) (66.84) (58.64)
V2 84.83 81.54 75.88 71.92 64.95 79.89 74.28 70.50 64.22 55.22
(67.16) (63.23) (60.92) (58.26) (53.93) (63.40) (59.29) (48.14) (64.59) (55.98)
S.Em± 0.29 0.21 1.31 0.17 0.16 0.12 0.14 0.12 0.10 0.21
CD (P=0.05%)1.15 1.08 NS 0.66 0.62 0.44 0.51 0.45 0.36 0.76
Containers (C)
C1 85.67 81..66 78.33 73.00 66.00 81.67 74.50 69.50 62.83 53.16
(67.77) (64.35) (62.27) (58.70) (54.34) (64.66) (59.69) (56.19) (52.44) (46.82)
C2 81.17 74.33 65.83 61.17 51.00 75.83 67.00 62.50 51.83 38.33
(64.31) (59.29) (54.24) (51.46) (45.57) (60.57) (55.03) (52.24) (64.00) (37.95)
C3 88.17 84.16 79.83 73.83 65.83 81.00 77.17 72.33 63.50 51.16
(69.90) (62.77) (63.33) (59.24) (54.24) (64.17) (61.47) (58.18) (52.84) (45.67)
C4 84.50 82.56 66.33 60.33 50.83 81.33 72.50 67.33 59.67 49.16
(66.85) (65.31) (54.54) (50.97) (45.48) (64.42) (58.38) (52.94) (50.61) (42.57)
C5 86.33 85.00 82.83 81.67 77.50 81.33 80.00 78.00 73.66 71.83
(68.33) (67.22) (54.54) (64.67) (61.62) (64.42) (63.33) (62.04) (59.15) (57.95)
C6 89.67 87.70 86.67 85.17 82.83 83.33 82.33 81.33 80.33 76.67
(71.29) (69.48) (68.61) (67.36) (65.54) (65.94) (62.75) (64.30) (63.68) (61.11)
S. Em± 0.55 0.51 2.92 0.38 0.36 0.28 0.31 0.27 0.23 0.46

CD (P=0.05%)2.15 2.01 11.18 1.47 1.40 10.2 1.13 0.98 0.84 1.67

* Figures in the parentheses indicate arcsine transformed values.

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Influence of Containers. . . . . . . ..

Germination (%) Field emergence (%)

Storage (months) Storage (months)
4 8 12 16 20 4 8 12 16 20
Interactions (V x C)
V1C1 86.33 83.00 78.67 74.00 67.00 82.33 76.67 72.00 63.66 55.66
(68.32) (65.67) (62.50) (59.34) (54.94) (65.15) (61.12) (58.05) (52.93) (48.26)
V1C2 82.33 76.00 67.33 62.68 52.33 77.00 68.67 63.33 52.66 41.33
(65.17) (60.66) (55.14) (52.34) (46.34) (61.35) (56.13) (52.71) (46.53) (39.09)
V1C3 89.00 85.00 80.67 73.00 66.00 81.00 78.00 74.00 64.67 52.66
(70.64) (67.27) (63.93) (58.69) (54.33) (64.17) 62.05() (59.15) (53.55) (46.53)
V1C4 85.67 83.33 67.33 62.33 52.00 82.00 73.33 68.33 60.66 50.00
(68.79) (65.88) (55.14) (52.14) (46.15) (64.90) (58.91) (51.55) (51.18) (45.00)
87.67 85.80 83.33 82.33 78.00 82.33 80.33 79.00 76.33 72.66
V1C5 (69.44) (62.86) (65.92) (65.15) (62.03) (65.15) (63.44) (62.72) (60.87) (58.48)
91.00 88.50 87.00 85.33 83.00 85.00 83.67 81.66 80.33 77.00
V1C6 (72.56) (70.18) (68.90) (67.50) (65.66) (67.22) (63.92) (64.42) (63.69) (61.34)
85.00 80.33 78.00 72.00 65.00) 81.00 72.33 66.33 62.00 50.66
V2C1 (67.22) (63.04) (62.03) (58.06) (53.73 (64.18) (58.27) (54.33) (51.94) (45.38)
80.00 72.67 64.33 59.68 49.68 74.67 65.33 61.67 51.00 35.33
V2C2 (34.46) (57.93) (53.33) (50.57) (44.81) (59.78) (53.93) (51.77) (45.57) (36.82)
87.33 83.33 79.00 74.67 65.68 81.00 76.33 70.66 62.33 49.67
V2C3 (69.16) (58.27) (62.73) (59.78) (54.14) (64.17) (60.90) (57.23) (52.12) (44.81)
83.33 81.80 65.33 58.33 49.68 80.67 71.67 66.33 58.67 48.33
V2C4 (65.91) (64.75) (53.93) (49.80) (44.81) (63.93) (57.85) (54.33) (50.07) (40.13)
85.00 84.20 82.33 81.83 77.00 80.33 79.67 77.00 71.00 71.00
V2C5 (67.22) (66.58) (65.16) (64.18) (61.32) (63.68) (63.22) (61.35) (57.42) (57.42)
88.33 86.90 86.33 85.00 82.68 81.67 80.33 81.00 80.33 76.33
V2C6 (70.03) (68.98) (68.32) (67.22) (65.42) (64.65) (61.58) (64.18) (63.68) (60.87)
S.Em± 0.78 0.72 4.12 0.54 0.51 0.39 0.43 0.39 0.32 0.65
CD (P=0.05%) NS NS NS 2.08 NS 1.42 1.56 1.42 1.16 2.36
* Figures in the parentheses indicate arcsine transformed values.

prolonging the shelf life of seed during storage. High electrical
conductivity of seed leachate which observed in cloth bag was
accompanied by the reduction in DNA, RNA, ribonuclease and
enzyme activity (Srivastava, 1975) and increase in permeability
arising out of addition of polar lipids of the membrane producing
more pores (Koostra and Harrington, 1969). The results are in
agreement with the reports of Sharma et al. (1998) in chilli.
Byadagi kaddi variety recorded higher germination, field
emergence, root length, shoot length, vigour index and lower
electrical conductivity of seed leachate over Dyavanur local
variety. Higher seed quality parameters in Byadagi kaddi
compared to Dyavanur local indicated that existence of
genotypic variation between the varieties. Similar variations in
varieties during storage was reported by Sharma et al. (1998) in
chilli. Significant differences in seed quality parameters were
observed due to interaction between varieties and containers
during storage. Byadagi kaddi seed stored in aluminium foil
recorded significantly higher germination during storage
followed by the seed stored in polythene bag, while the lowest
germination was noticed in the seeds of Dyavanur local stored
in cloth bag at the end of storage period. Byadagi kaddi variety
seeds stored in aluminium foil recorded higher field emergence
over other combinations. The similar trend was also noticed in
root length, shoot length and vigour index throughout the
storage period. The lower electrical conductivity was noticed in

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Karnataka Journal of Agricultural Sciences : 20(3) , 2007

Table 2. Influence of containers on root length and shoot length of chilli seed during storage
Root length (cm) Shoot length (cm)
Storage (months) Storage (months)
4 8 12 16 20 4 8 12 16 20
Varieties (V)
V1 9.63 8.89 8.08 6.82 5.75 8.11 7.44 6.39 5.67 4.68
V2 9.03 8.82 7.28 5.99 4.80 7.90 7.27 6.24 5.48 4.40
S.Em± 0.06 0.06 0.05 0.04 0.05 0.04 0.05 0.05 0.03 0.04
CD (P=0.05%) 0.22 0.22 0.19 0.13 0.19 0.15 NS 0.20 0.11 0.15
Containers (C)
C1 9.80 9.35 7.50 5.65 4.70 7.90 7.33 5.90 4.73 3.37
C2 8.62 7.13 5.85 4.25 3.05 7.40 6.32 5.48 4.63 3.05
C3 8.88 8.20 7.52 5.95 4.75 7.98 7.03 5.67 4.65 3.35
C4 9.28 8.38 7.85 6.60 5.50 7.93 7.53 6.40 5.98 4.67
C5 9.68 9.05 8.67 8.08 6.80 8.28 7.95 7.20 6.65 6.33
C6 9.72 9.20 8.72 8.17 6.85 8.50 7.97 7.25 6.80 6.38
S. Em± 0.13 0.13 0.11 0.78 0.11 0.09 0.11 0.11 0.06 0.09
CD (P=0.05%) 0.50 0.50 0.41 0.30 0.41 0.34 0.42 0.44 0.24 0.35
Interactions (V x T)
V1C1 9.90 9.47 7.70 5.73 4.80 8.00 7.37 6.00 4.77 3.50
V1C2 9.13 7.43 6.00 4.50 3.20 7.40 6.60 5.50 4.80 3.10
V1C3 9.37 8.60 8.00 6.00 5.23 8.00 7.00 5.80 4.80 3.40
V1C4 9.38 8.53 8.13 7.10 6.00 8.00 7.57 6.50 5.97 4.83
V1C5 9.97 9.60 9.30 9.03 7.60 8.53 8.00 7.23 6.80 6.60
V1C6 10.03 9.70 9.37 9.10 7.67 8.70 8.10 7.33 6.90 6.67
V2C1 9.70 9.23 7.30 5.57 4.60 7.80 7.30 5.80 4.70 3.23
V2C2 8.10 6.83 5.70 4.00 4.90 7.40 6.03 5.47 4.47 3.00
V2C3 8.40 7.80 7.03 5.90 4.27 7.97 7.07 5.53 4.50 3.30
V2C4 9.20 8.23 7.57 6.10 5.00 7.87 7.50 6.30 6.00 4.50
V2C5 9.40 8.50 8.03 7.13 6.00 8.03 7.90 7.17 6.50 6.07
V2C6 9.40 8.70 8.03 7.13 6.03 8.30 7.83 7.17 6.70 6.10
S.Em± 0.18 0.18 0.15 0.11 0.15 0.13 0.16 0.16 0.09 0.13
CD (P=0.05%) NS NS 0.59 0.42 0.59 NS NS NS 0.35 0.49

the seeds of Byadagi kaddi stored in aluminium foil and
polythene bag (700 gauge), while it was more in the seeds of
Dyavanur local stored in cloth bag. Such differential variation
between varieties may be due to genetic make up of the varieties
and their performance during storage. These results are in
agreement with chilli seeds stored in polythene packets for 27
months (Sharma et al., 1998). From the above discussion, it is
clear that the seeds stored in aluminium foil maintained the seed
quality up to 20 months above MSCS (65%), followed by the
seeds stored in 700 guage polythene bag compared to the seeds
stored in fruit form, cloth bag, paper bag and low thickness (400
guage) polythene bag.

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Influence of Containers. . . . . . . ..

Table 3. Influence of containers on vigour index and electrical conductivity of chilli seed during storage
Vigour index Electrical conductivity (dSm-1)
Storage (months) Storage (months)
4 8 12 16 20 4 8 12 16 20
Varieties (V)
V1 1544 1348 1127 900 720 0.792 1.044 1.262 1.451 1.716
V2 1437 1265 1037 841 617 1.012 1.238 1.598 1.832 2.085
S.Em± 6.78 7.43 5.12 4.56 5.20 0.003 0.003 0.006 0.004 0.039
CD (P=0.05%)26.00 28.51 29.63 17.50 19.94 0.011 0.013 0.002 0.016 0.151
Treatments (T)
C1 1516 1429 1050 758 533 0.885 1.083 1.443 1.738 1.891
C2 1300 1052 747 544 311 1.102 1.068 1.964 2.049 2.888
C3 1487 1200 1053 782 534 0.870 0.951 1.354 1.601 1.725
C4 1455 1329 945 760 518 0.876 1.236 1.547 1.704 1.842
C5 1552 1380 1314 1202 1018 0.876 0.938 1.149 1.361 1.479
C6 1634 1448 1383 1275 1076 0.813 1.030 1.121 1.370 1.579
S. Em± 15.16 16.62 11.45 10.21 12.63 0.006 0.007 0.013 0.009 0.088
CD (P=0.05%)58.13 64.74 44.90 39.13 44.57 0.024 0.029 0.490 0.036 0.338
Interactions (V x T)
V1C1 1545 1397 1062 765 556 0.788 0.929 1.327 1.531 1.789
V1C2 1360 1066 773 583 330 0.890 1.545 1.893 1.957 2.645
V1C3 1545 1325 1113 588 570 0.769 0.784 1.171 1.319 1.519
V1C4 1487 1390 985 814 563 0.771 1.118 1.424 1.673 1.789
V1C5 1622 1423 1378 1282 1108 0.761 0.764 0.885 1.112 1.190
V1C6 1704 1484 1453 1365 1190 0.773 1.124 0.869 1.114 1.364
V2C1 1487 1461 1038 752 509 0.983 1.237 1.559 1.945 1.993
V2C2 1240 1038 721 505 293 1.314 1.6780 2.0335 2.140 3.130
V2C3 1429 1075 993 776 497 0.972 1.119 1.537 1.883 1.931
V2C4 1422 1269 905 706 472 0.980 1.354 1.669 1.735 1.895
V2C5 1482 1336 1251 1123 929 0.972 1.112 1.414 1.609 1.768
V2C6 1564 1411 1312 1184 1003 0.852 0.935 1.373 1.625 1.794
S.Em± 21.44 23.51 16.19 14.43 16.44 0.009 0.011 0.018 0.013 0.125
CD (P=0.05%) NS 90.14 62.08 55.34 63.03 0.034 0.040 0.069 0.051 0.478

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