Radiação UV-C: efeito na redução de contaminação fúngica em sementes de soja armazenadas

Abstract

The Soybean Glycine max (L.) has great importance in Brazil’s economic scenario, where the tropical and subtropical climates are predominant, considering that the lack of humidity and temperature control during storage favors microbiological activity, which directly interferes with the physiological quality of the seed. Ultraviolet radiation has been used as an emerging technology in the control of microorganisms, reducing the rate of contamination, or promoting product sterilization, with its maximum effectiveness at a wavelength of 260µm. The objective of this research was to evaluate the application of ultraviolet radiation UV-C in soybean seeds regarding time and radiation intensity, considering the seeds’ layer, intending to reduce contamination without affecting the product’s physiological quality.It was observed that the application with an intensity of 2400in µW/cm² for 30 min, resulted in a significant reduction in the contamination of Aspergillus flavus and Penicilliun ssp, which remained reduced after storage. The UV-C’s low penetration capacity has positively influenced the germination and contamination percentage, as a counterpoint to the radicular length analysis and the emergency velocity index, in which the greater the seed layer, i.e., thicker than 4 cm, the better the results. There was no loss of physiological quality in the tested parameters and indications of improvement in seed germination and vigor were obtained, confirming that UV-C radiation is a technology with potential for fungal reduction of soybean seeds, with exposure time and radiation intensity the factors that affect it.