Vol. 9, Special Issue 10, Part P (2025)

The present investigation was carried out to assess variability in seed quality among cultivars and to evaluate the effect of fungicide seed treatments on storability under ambient conditions. Eight chilli cultivars, including locally popular types such as Byadagi dabbi, Byadagi kaddi, Devanur dabbi, Devanur deluxe, Khanapur local, Bellary dabbi, Guntur and the improved cultivar Rudra were evaluated for seed health and quality parameters.

Significant variation was observed among cultivars, where Rudra exhibited superior seed quality with the highest germination (89.33%), longer seedlings, maximum vigour indices, the lowest electrical conductivity (326.53 µS/cm), reduced moisture (8.01%), and the least seed infection (3.00%). Conversely, Devanur dabbi showed poor germination (72.00%), weak vigour, high electrical conductivity (580.11 µS/cm) and maximum seed infection (7.33%). Mycoflora analysis detected Colletotrichum sp., Fusarium sp., Aspergillus sp. and Rhizopus sp.

A study was conducted to know the storability of chilli cultivars using Rudra (high-performing) and Devanur dabbi (low-performing) under eight fungicide treatments stored in 700 gauge polythene bags for ten months. Trifloxystrobin 25% + Tebuconazole 50% WG @ 2.0 g/kg (T₈) and Penflufen 13.28% + Trifloxystrobin 13.28% (T₆) proved most effective treatments in maintaining seed quality over ten months of storage when compared to untreated control. Among the cultivar and treatment interaction, the Rudra with Trifloxystrobin 25% + Tebuconazole 50% WG @ 2.0 g/kg (C₁T₈) combination retained the highest seed quality, even after ten months of storage, whereas untreated Devanur dabbi (C₂T₁) seeds declined sharply.

The study revealed Rudra was identified as the most promising cultivar which showed significant cultivar variability in terms of seed quality and storability. Whereas, farmer collected cultivars showed inferior seed quality due to poor management, post-harvest practices, storage and genetic variation. Fungicide seed treatments, especially the fungicide combination of Trifloxystrobin 25% + Tebuconazole 50% WG @ 2.0 g/kg, effectively delayed deterioration and enhanced viability.