Abstract

The research aimed to analyse relationship between ethanol products of maize seeds after ultrasonic vibrating and seeds vigour derived from standard method. A method of accurate and fast maize seed vigour quantification was anticipated. The treated maize seeds with different vigour levels, using hot-humid treatments, were investigated using germination test, radicle emergence test and mean germination time according the ISTA’s rule. A fast ethanol assay with ultrasonic vibration was also used for measuring ethanol product from the seeds. The experiment was conducted in completely randomized designs with four replications and correlation analysis was also analysed. The result showed that ethanol product with ultrasonic vibration for 90 minutes of treated maize seeds were higher than the control (non-treated seed). The correlation coefficients—R²—of ethanol production and percentage radicle emergence and mean germination time were high (R² = 0.9572 and R² = 0.9205, respectively). The negative linear correlations between ethanol production and seed vigour were observed. Therefore, the fast ethanol assay with ultrasonic vibration can evaluate maize seed vigour.