Maternal environment on seed germination and viability in cowpea.

Seed quality is determined by the environmental conditions to which they were exposed during their formation. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the seed viability and seedling formation of cowpea cultivars produced in a high-temperature environment. Seeds of the cowpea cultivars Carijó, Itaim and Tapahium produced in growth chambers under temperature regimes T°1: 20-26-33 °C and T°2: 24.8-30.8-37.8 °C were used. The experimental design was completely randomized, with four replicates of 25 seeds, placed to germinate at a temperature of 25 °C in B.O.D chambers. Increase in air temperature during seed production did not hamper germination percentage. However, the 4.8 °C increase in air temperature reduced the vigor of seeds of the cultivar Tapahium, resulting in an increase in the number of abnormal seedlings. Seeds of the cultivars Carijó and Itaim produced under temperature regime 24.8-30.8-37.8 °C showed higher performanc