Preliminary research regarding thermal treatments applied to the bean seeds

The loss caused by the bean weevil (Acanthoscelides obtectus) to the bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) seeds can be total. Nowadays, the chemical treatments used are very toxic and it may endanger human life. An alternative to this practice is represented by the thermal treatments applied to the bean seeds after harvest. In 2020, at Vegetable Research and Development Station Buzau (V.R.D.S. Buzau), Romania, there were cultivated many bean accessions (germplasm collection). Seeds harvest was made in stages during many weeks, each accession being harvested separately. The seeds of each accession were exposed to a dry thermal treatment of 60°C temperature for 3 days and they were stored in the fridge at 2°C. There was chosen 60°C temperature, because the sprouting percent of those seeds was higher at the seeds preserved at 70°C temperature and the rising period was smaller.