Plantago ovata is a medicinal species of great importance cultivated in India, Iran and Pakistan.The seeds contain 20 to 30% of mucilage, used by the pharmaceutical industry for the treatment of chronic constipation, intestinal cancer and amoeba. India is the main exporter of Plantago ovata seeds, worldwide. In Brazil, this species has been given the corporate name of Agiolax. This work aimed to evaluate the possible effects of water and salt stresses on the germination of Plantago ovata seeds. The seeds were put to germinate in paper moistened with 15mL of solutions with the potentials of 0.0; -0.2; -0.4; -0.6 and -0.8MPa, induced with polyethylene glycol (PEG 6000), NaCl and CaCl2. Each experiment consisted of 50 seeds, 4 repetitions, and temperature at 25ºC in the presence of light. The results allowed the conclusion that water stress causes a greater reduction in the percentage and speed of germination of P. ovata seeds than saline stress, regardless of the substance used for stress induction, germination limit was-0.4 to -0.6MPa.
Water and saline stresses; Plantago ovata; germination
