Pre-germinative treatments applied to Chionanthus pubescens and C. virginicus seeds for sexual propagation

Tratamentos pré-germinativos aplicados a sementes de Chionanthus pubescens e C. virginicus para propagação sexual

ABSTRACT

Chionanthus pubescens Kunth and C. virginicus seeds present double dormancy, what represents a problem for their sexual reproduction, given that it prevents them from reaching adequate germination rates. This research aimed to apply pre-germinative treatments to overcome the double dormancy in C. pubescens and C. virginicus seeds, as well as to improve both the germination speed and the amount of obtained seedlings. A completely randomized design was applied, with four treatments for each species (soaking seeds in cold water, soaking seeds in hot water, mechanical scarification and control) and three replications. For C. pubescens, the pre-germinative treatment with the best results was mechanical scarification, with a 39.22 % germinative capacity; while, for C. virginicus, the best treatment was soaking seeds in hot water (49.00 %).

KEYWORDS:
Oleaceae; seed dormancy; germination