Correlations between germination capacity and selected physical properties of perennial ryegrass cv. Maja seeds

Perennial ryegrass is one of the most valuable pasture grasses. The species is recommended for sodding various types of land in Poland due to its fast growth and the ability to produce large numbers of vegetative shoots. Seedling emergence and biomass yield are largely determined by seed quality. This study analyzes the correlations between the basic physical properties of seeds of perennial ryegrass cv. Maja and their germination capacity. The basic dimensions (length, width and thickness) and mass of each of the 150 seeds were determined, and their arithmetic mean diameter, geometric mean diameter, aspect ratio, sphericity index and density were calculated. The seeds were germinated for 14 days, and the results were recorded daily, which enabled to determine germination time for each seed. The relationships between the evaluated parameters were determined by the Student’s t-test for independent samples and correlation analysis. The analyzed physical properties of seeds had no significant effect on the germination rate index. Germinated and non-germinated seeds differed significantly in width, length and arithmetic mean diameter, but they should not be sorted based on their plumpness to improve the quality of seed material because it could lead to a high loss of viable seeds.