N. Khatri1*, D. Pokhrel1, B.P. Pandey1, K.R. Pant1, M. Bista2

1National Wheat Research Program, Bhairahawa, Rupandehi, Nepal 2Regional Agriculture Research Station, Lumle, Kaski, Nepal

(Manuscript received 19 July 2019; accepted for publication 30 October 2019)

Abstract. A study was conducted at four Village Development Committees (Masuriya, Udashipur, Basauti and Pahalmanpur) of Kailali dis- trict, Far western Region, Nepal in 2016/17 to find out the effect of different storage materials on the seed moisture content and germination percentage of wheat. Seeds of wheat were packed using five storage materials (metal seed bin, earthen pot, purdue improved crop storage / Pics/ bag, gunny bag and super grain bag). The stored seed samples were drawn at three-month intervals starting from May 2016 to January 2017. The experiment was arranged in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) in four replications. The results of analysis of variance revealed that the effect of storage materials was significant (P≤0.05) on seed moisture content and seed germination of wheat. After nine months of storage, the seeds stored in Pics bag recorded the lowest moisture (13.3%) and temperature (26.4°C), and the highest germination percentage (91.75%). The lowest quality performance (high moisture and temperature, low germination) of stored seeds was observed in an earthen pot. From the results obtained, it was concluded that wheat seed could be stored for a long time in Pics bag without deteriorating its quality parameters.