Abstract

CARVALHO*, Marta Betânia F.; MOREIRA, Matheus F.  and  MENDONCA, Andreza P.. Physiological behavior of Cojoba arborea (L.) Britton & Rose seeds submitted to drying. Rev. de Ciências Agrárias [online]. 2021, vol.44, n.2-3, pp.51-60.  Epub Sep 17, 2020. ISSN 0871-018X.  https://doi.org/10.19084/rca.20646.

The management of recalcitrant seeds remains an unsolved challenge and there is no satisfactory method to maintain its long-term viability. The work evaluated the effect of drying C. arborea seeds on its physiological behavior and degree of recalcitrance. In determining the degree of recalcitrance, germination tests were applied to seeds with different moisture content. The test was divided into two stages: drying process and germination test. The drying tolerance was determined by placing the seeds on a 5 mm mesh sieve in an air-conditioned environment. At the end of every five days, the water content was determined and sowing was carried out. With the germination data, speed indexes and average germination time were calculated. The variables of percentage of germination, average time of germination and vigor were applied analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by the Tukey test (p <0.05) to compare the means. The seeds were dispersed with a high moisture content, 55.4%, and had viability and vigor compromised when dried, characterizing them as recalcitrant. The critical water content was 23.69%, while the degree of lethal humidity was 17.99%.

Keywords : recalcitrant seeds; recalcitrance; viability.

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