Conservação de sementes de Crateva tapia L. em diferentes estádios de maturação.

Abstract

The species Crataeva tapia L. (Capparaceae) is an arboreal species, which can be used in the manufacture of wine drinks, in the production of medicines and in the restoration of degraded areas. The objective of this work was to evaluate the physiological quality of Crataeva tapia seeds at different stages of maturation and submitted to storage. The experiment was conducted at the Seed Analysis Laboratory (LAS), at the Center for Agricultural Sciences, at the Federal University of Paraíba, in Areia - PB. 100 seeds were used per batch distributed in four replications of 25 seeds each. The fruits of three ripening stages (yellow-green, yellow-green, yellow-orange) and seeds from these fruits, were packed in plastic packaging and placed in a refrigerator for seven periods of storage. At each period, the effect of the lots on germination and seed vigor was evaluated, determining the water content, the germination percentage, first germination count, length and dry mass of seedlings. The data were subjected to analysis of variance. The data as a function of storage days were adjusted to polynomial regression using the F test and assuming an error of up to 5% probability. From the results obtained, it was observed that the water content significantly influenced the physiological potential of the stored seeds. Very high water contents cause deterioration of the seed. This justifies the absence of germination at the first count and the percentage of germination after 30 days of storage, in the seeds of the yellow-green, yellow-green and yellow-orange stages, whether with the mucilage or inside the fruit. The seeds stored with the mucilage and inside the fruit provided an increase in the water content of the seeds. Germination and vigor of C. tapia were not affected in the maturation stages Yellow-green, yellow-green and yellow-orange without mucilage over 60 days of storage.