Four periods of water imbibition were applied on fruits and seeds of heart of palm plants (Euterpe edulis Mart.) in order to identify the effects of additional water on the standard emergence, speed of emergence index and emergence process duration. Imbibition of fruits showed detrimental effects over the percentage and rate of emergence, probably due to an increasing microorganism contamination. Although imbibition of seeds per two days presented an increase in standard emergence, in comparison with the other treatments, it was not effective to accelerate the process. Seeds, after passing through a fruit decorticage, gave greater and faster emergence, with a considerable decrease of the emergence process duration.
heart of palm; imbibition; seed emergence and rate