Ethephon application in peanut plants: a strategy to overcome seed dormancy and enhance post-harvest vigor assessment

Determining the physiological quality of peanut seeds immediately after harvest remains a challenge due to seed dormancy, which delays the execution of germination and vigor tests. Although ethylene is known to be involved in the regulation of seed dormancy, its application under field conditions as a strategy to anticipate the expression of seed physiological quality remains poorly explored. In this study, we evaluated the use of ethylene, applied via ethephon to plants, to promote dormancy release and to anticipate the assessment of peanut seed vigor. Field experiments were conducted using different ethephon doses (0, 0.75, 1.5, 3.0 and 6.0 L ha⁻¹) and application timings (0, 85, 95, and 105 days after emergence). The results showed that higher doses significantly reduced dormancy and enhanced the expression of vigor-related traits, regardless of application timing. Transcriptomic analysis during seed maturation revealed stage-specific expression patterns of genes associated with gibberellins, abscisic acid, and ethylene pathways throughout development. These findings suggest that ethylene is involved in the regulation of seed dormancy, possibly through interactions with key hormonal pathways associated with the processes of dormancy acquisition and release. Overall, our results demonstrate that the application of ethylene in seed production fields represents an effective strategy to anticipate the evaluation of physiological quality, contributing to improved decision-making in seed production, selection, and certification programs.