An experiment was conducted in order to determine the best lenght period and medium (cotton, sand or washing) for the stratification of seeds of quince (Cydonia oblonga Mill.), cultivars Portugal and Smyrna. The following conclusions could be drawn: a) the stratification in moist cold storage was an essential procedure to break the quince seed dormancy; b) the Portugal cultivar, in relation to 'Smyrna', presented lower chilling requirement for a suitable seed germination and seedling emergency; c) the three media utilized provided adequate conditions and satisfactory moisture to the seeds. However, cotton and sand were the best media: the former was the most aseptic, and the latter the most homogenous and efficient one. Another experiment was performed to compare seed viability when seeds were prepared by different processes, collected from ripe fruits of the Portugal variety, and kept under various storage conditions. The seeds extracted from ripe fruits up to 15 days after harvest and maintained at laboratory conditions for different periods, showed decreasing emergency indexes, probably due to the detrimental effects of pulp and seed natural coverings deterioration. Seeds extracted from fruits and kept in cold storage for 90 days, sowed immediately or after a period of stratification showed, respectively, medium to high germination percentages.
quince; Cydonia oblonga Mill.; seeds; media and periods for seed stratification; preparation; germination; emergency; viability