Comparison of seed germination and vigour in low and high phytic acid maize synthetic populations and commercially available hybrids

Plant breeders have focused on reducing phytic acid in maize seeds to improve grain nutritional quality. However, this could have negative effects on seed quality. The objective of this study was to compare seed performance of low and high phytic acid (LPA and HPA) synthetic populations of tropical origin with two hybrid varieties (SC701 and LS8520). Four replicates of 20 seeds per variety were germinated in a randomized complete block design for a standard germination test. Seeds were also subjected to an accelerated ageing (AA) test. The results of the final seed germination percentage were as follows: HPA (98.0%) > SC701 (93.0%) > LPA (90.0%) > LS8520 (85.0%). However, statistically, HPA seeds were similar (p > 0.05) to SC701 seeds and LPA seeds were similar (p > 0.05) to SC701 seeds. The mean germination time (MGT) was similar for all varieties, however, the germination velocity index (GVI) was highest (p < 0.05) for SC701 and similar (p > 0.05) in LPA and HPA. Both SC701 and HPA showed higher percentages germination when they were exposed to the AA test. It was concluded that the LPA population had similar seed quality parameters to high performing varieties.