~ 235 ~ Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry 2021; 10(1): 235-238 E-ISSN: 2278-4136 P-ISSN: 2349-8234 www.phytojournal.com JPP 2021; 10(1): 235-238 Received: 03-10-2020 Accepted: 04-12-2020 Vijaya Geetha V Assistant Professor, Oilseeds Research Station, TNAU, Tindivanam, Tamil Nadu, India PC Prabu Assistant Professor, Oilseeds Research Station, TNAU, Tindivanam, Tamil Nadu, India S Thiruvarassan Assistant Professor, Oilseeds Research Station, TNAU, Tindivanam, Tamil Nadu, India M Bhaskaran Professor and Head, RRS, TNAU, Tirur, Tamil Nadu, India Corresponding Author: Vijaya Geetha V Assistant Professor, Oilseeds Research Station, TNAU, Tindivanam, Tamil Nadu, India Assessment of suitable seed treatment for improving storage potential of groundnut and sesame seeds Vijaya Geetha V, PC Prabu, S Thiruvarassan and M Bhaskaran DOI: https://doi.org/10.22271/phyto.2021.v10.i1d.13312 Abstract Groundnut and sesame are the economic commercial crops of India and need special attention for extended storage life due to its high demand and lesser multiplication ratio. The storage of oil seed is most critical both due to the presence of glycerides and amenability to fungal infections. The freshly harvested seeds of groundnut cv. TMV 13 obtained from Oilseeds Research Station, Tindivanam formed the base material for the study. The experiment was conducted at Oilseeds Research Station, Tindivanam during 2016-2017. The groundnut pods with initial moisture content of 8.0 per cent were conditioned to various treatments viz., T1- Control; T2 – Seeds treated with Halogen Vapour @3g/kg of seed; T3 – Seeds treated with Halo Polymer @3ml/kg of seed. After treating the seeds, the seeds were dried to the moisture content of eight per cent and packed in Super Grain Bag. Seeds were evaluated at bimonthly interval upto 6 six months of storage and from seventh month onwards it has been evaluated at monthly basis for its quality parameters viz., Germination Percentage, Root length (cm), Shoot length (cm), Dry matter production (g 10 seedling -1 ), Vigour index, Electrical Conductivity (dsm -1 ), Oil Content (Per cent) and Field Emergence (%). The groundnut as well as sesame seed treated with Halo polymer @3 ml/kg of seeds stored in super grain bag maintained better vigour and viability upto 10 months compared to other treatments under ambient condition. The groundnut maintained 53% and sesame maintained 85% at the end of ten months of storage. Keywords: Groundnut, sesame, halo polymer, halogen vapour, storage, super bag, seed treatment Introduction India is a paradise for oilseed crops. No other country has its range of perennial and annual oilseeds. In terms of area, India ranks first in groundnut, sesame, linseed, safflower, niger and castor. Oilseed crops have been the backbone of agricultural economy of India from time immemorial. Oils extracted from plants have been used since earliest times and have been exploited in many ways. Total edible oil production in 2012-13 is likely to increase to 7.3 million tons, 3 percent more than the previous year. Seed aging during storage is an inevitable phenomenon, but the degree and speed of decline in seed quality depend strongly, beside storage conditions, on plant species stored and initial seed quality (Elias and Copeland, 1994; Balesevic et al., 2005) [5, 3] . Seed being a living entity, deterioration beyond physiological maturity is inevitable and will be pronounced when seeds are stored under hostile conditions. Although, ageing of seeds cannot be arrested completely, when they are stored under ambient condition, it can however, be controlled to an appreciable extent by adoption of suitable storage technologies. The physiological ageing in seed is accelerated by the hostile environment like increased temperature and relative humidity. Developing controlled storage condition might solve this problem, but it is often not feasible for storing bulk quantity of seeds at least for the present. For this purpose, various physical enhancement techniques are followed in the seed industry such as fungicidal treatments, halogenation and pelleting treatments. With these in background, studies have been undertaken in Groundnut TMV 13 and sesame cv. TMV 7 to study the influence of physical seed enhancement techniques on storability. Materials and Methods Freshly harvested seeds of groundnut TMV 13 and Sesame TMV 7 obtained from Oilseeds Research Station, Tindivanam formed the base material for the study. The seeds were subjected to the following treatments T1- Control T2 – Seeds treated with Halogen Vapour @3g/kg of seed T3 – Seeds treated with Halo Polymer @3ml/kg of seed