The species Passiflora cincinnata Mast., which belongs to the Passifloraceae family, is wild and commonly known as Crato Passion Fruit and it is also considered potentially important for rootstock production due to its tolerance to drought, bacterial diseases and nematodes. It can also be used in genetic breeding programs. This objective of this research was to study the effect of light and temperature and the interaction between temperature and plant growth regulators, on Passiflora cincinnata Mast. seed germination. Three experiments were developed: the first verified the effect of light and temperature on seed germination; the second, the effect of different concentrations of GA4+7 + N-(phenylmethyl)-1H-purine-6-amine plant growth regulators on seed germination; and the third, the interaction between temperature and plant growth regulators on seed germination. A randomized complete design was used in all the experiments and data were subjected to analysis of variance followed by mean comparison by the Tukey test, at 0.05 significance. Light had an inhibitory effect on seed germination, and GA4+7 + N-(phenylmethyl)-1H-purine-6-amine were efficient in breaking dormancy and increasing temperature limits. Alternating temperatures, 20-30ºC, were the most appropriate for seed germination in this species.
passion fruit; Passifloraceae; propagation
