The present work had the objective of evaluating different storage environments and packings in relation to the efficiency in the maintenance of the quality of the seeds of ‘Araçá’ (Psidium guineense Swartz), during 180 days. The seeds were obtained from fully ripened recently-harvested fruits of eight accesses of the active germoplasm bank of the ‘Araçazeiro’ located in the Experimental Station of Agricultural Research Organization of the State of Pernambuco at Itapirema, Goiana-PE, and denominated as IPA 4, IPA 6, IPA 7, IPA 9, IPA 10, IPA 11, IPA 15 and IPA 16. The experiment was represented by the combinations of the following factors: seeds of 8 accesses of the ‘Araçazeiro’, conditioned in the Kraft paper bags and glass, stored under environmental conditions of Recife-PE, and in a freezer. The physiological quality of the seeds was evaluated at the beginning and at every 60 days of storage, through the germination and vigor (first count germination and index of germination speed). The results showed that the physiological quality of the seeds was reduced with significant losses in the germination and vigor during the storage period. The glass packing provided larger efficiency in the conservation of the physiological quality of the seeds, under conditions of high relative humidity inside the freezer, which provoked larger deterioration of the seeds conditioned in Kraft paper bags. Among the environment of storage tested, the most efficient in the conservation of the seeds of the ‘Araçazeiro’ was the storage under normal environmental condition for both packings. The accesses IPA 4 and IPA 6 presented the highest germination indexes and vigor.
Psidium guineense; germination; vigor; conservation; packing
