Qualidade sanitária e fisiológica de sementes de Crataeva tapia L. tratadas com óleo essencial de Mentha arvensis L.

Abstract

The species Crataeva tapia L. is recommended for reforestation programs in degraded areas, however, the control of pathogens in their seeds should be studied with greater emphasis, since the pathogens make it difficult to germinate. In this sense, the search for alternative methods to control pathogens in seeds that do not affect the environment is gaining worldwide attention. Among these methods are alternative treatments, such as essential oils. The objective of this research was to evaluate the efficiency of peppermint oil Mentha arvensis L. on fungal microflora and viability of C. tapia seeds, in order to establish the control of pathogens and, consequently, to contribute for the preservation and conservation of these forest species, without damage to the environment. The seeds were collected in the cities of Cuité de Mamanguape, Umbuzeiro, Remígio, Esperança and Sousa, all in the state of Paraíba. The seeds were submitted to sanity and germination tests. The evaluation of the incidence of fungi was made from the visualization of these by means of the incubation method in paper blotter-test. 100 seeds per treatment were used in the sanity test, being distributed in ten replicates of ten seeds. Seeds treated with peppermint oil were immersed in 1 mL for five minutes, then incubated in Petri dishes. In the germination test, 100 seeds were used, four replicates of 25 seeds per treatment, distributed in paper towel with the rolls incubated in the germination chamber at a temperature between 20-30°C. The experimental design was a completely randomized 2x10 factorial design. In the seeds of C. tapia the fungi Aspergillus sp., Aspergillus niger, Botryodiplodia sp., Botrytis sp., Colletotrichum sp., Cladosporium sp., Fusarium sp., Monilia sp., Periconia sp., Penicillium sp. and Rhizopus sp. Therefore, the use of essential oils in fungal management in C. tapia seeds appears as a promising alternative.