The establishment of an in vitro protocol for plants risen from seeds of Passiflora spp is important to guarantee aseptic plants. It could be also an opportunity to maintain an in vitro germoplasma bank. Because Passiflora nitida presents dormancy in seeds, the aim of this paper was to verify the effect in seed germination of different doses of gibberellic acid (GA3) (0, 500 and 1000 mg.L-1), under light or dark. The seeds were germinated in half-strength Murashige & Skoog medium. The experimental design was fully randomized one, with ten replicates per treatment. The experimental unit was considered to be a flask (30 mL of medium) with five seeds each. A hundred of P. edulis fresh seeds were used as witness to verify if water immersion and or if the decontaminating process could be responsible in seeds viability. We conclude that gibberellic acid (1000 mg. L-1) has increased seeds germination. There are no germination significant differences with or without light regime.
passion fruit; seed germination; Passiflora nitida; in vitro establishment
