Biometriy of Seeds of Tabebuia aurea (Silva Manso) Benth. & Hook. f. ex. S. Moore and Seedling Growth After Different Periods of Water Immersion

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the biometric characteristics of seeds of Tabebuia aurea and evaluate the effect of different periods of water immersion on the initial growth of seedlings. For this, the following dimensions were analyzed: length, width, and thickness of seeds with lateral wings and embryo. The moisture content, weight of a thousand seeds, and the number of seeds per kilogram were determined. The seeds were subjected to 11 treatments, as follow: control (no immersion in water; 0 hours) and periods of water immersion for 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, 48, 54, and 60 hours, with four replications of 25 seeds in each treatment. The aerial part and seedling root lengths were analyzed 30 days after sowing. The water content was 9.81% and the weight of a thousand seeds was 130.260 g, corresponding to about 7,677 seeds/kg. The seeds with lateral wings had mean length, width, and thickness of 5.252, 1.226, and 0.147 cm, respectively. For the embryo, these dimensions corresponded to 1.355, 0.805, and 0.103 cm. Regarding the aerial part and root length of T. aurea seedlings, immersion for 48 hours is recommended because this treatment had the best results.

Keywords:
forest seeds; Bignoniaceae; Caatinga; craibeira

HIGHLIGHTS

• There was variability in the dimensions of seeds with lateral wings and embryo.

• The frequency distribution of T. aurea seeds provided important data for size classification.

• Immersion of the seeds for 48 hours produced more vigorous seedlings.