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Respiration of recalcitrant Inga vera Willd. subsp. affinis (DC.) T.Dw.Pennington embryos under different temperatures, water deficits and ABA application

ABSTRACT

The high metabolism of desiccation sensitive (recalcitrant) seeds of Inga vera Willd. subsp. affinis (DC.) T.D.Pennington is one of the main factors that hinder the conservation of physiological viability of those seeds during storage. Due to lack of information on the respiratory metabolism of these seeds in different conditions of stress, this study aimed to determine respiration rates of embryos with different levels of hydration and at different temperatures after application of ABA and PEG treatments. The results showed both high levels of respirations and the presence of oxidative reactions. ABA showed little effects, but respiration and oxidative processes were diminished by both soft drying and PEG treatment. Therefore, reducing the storage temperature is efficient in reducing the metabolism, allowing to increase the storage. However, the maturation degree is decisive to better conserve the embryos of Inga vera.

Keywords:
inga; osmotic stress; PEG; recalcitrant seeds; respiratory metabolism

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