The sexual propagation of Smilax japecanga Grisebach is limited, due to seed dormancy which may take 6 to 8 months to overcome, making the production of seedlings a difficult task. In order to promote seed germination, experiments on dormancy breakage were performed. Mechanical scarification using an emery; chemical scarification with 98% sulfuric acid for 30 seconds, 1, 5 and 10 minutes; imbibition for 48 hours with GA3 0.55, 1.1, 1.65 and 2.2 mM and a combination of chemical scarification for 6 minutes plus imbibition in GA3 1.92 mM for 48 hours were used. The combination of chemical scarification plus imbibition with GA3 1.65 mM promoted the highest germination (86%), followed by imbibition in 1.65 mM GA3 (56%). Lower germination percentage was obtained using mechanical scarification (8%) and chemical scarification for 1 minute (7%).
Seeds; dormancy; Smilax japecanga
