Two experiments were carried out to evaluate the effect of osmotic conditioning on the germination of Triplaris americana seeds, under nondormant and stress conditions. The first experiment was set up in a completaly randomized design with four replications of 50 seeds and the following treatments: T1: water (7 days at 25ºC), T2: - 1,5Mpa (NaCl) , T3: -1,5Mpa (NaCl) + 25mg.L-1 -giberellic acid (GA), T4: - 0,25Mpa - polyethylem glycol (PEG), T5: - 0,25Mpa (PEG) + 25mg.L-1 (GA) and T6: control. The second experiment was a completaly randomized design with four replications of 25 seeds, in a 2x4 factorial design, with two stress conditions and 4 conditionings. The stress conditions were accelerated aging (72 hours in germination chamber (BOD type), at 42ºC and germination at 20ºC. The following treatments were compared: water; -1,5Mpa (NaCl), - 0,25Mpa (PEG), without conditioning (control). It was confirmed that in seeds not subjected to stress, the osmotic conditioning did not increase the germination percentage and dry mass of Triplaris americana ("ant-wood"), but conditioning in water and in PEG + GA provided higher germination speed. In conditions of simulated stress, the osmotic conditioning, mainly in - 0,25 Mpa (PEG), acted positively in aspects related to Triplaris americana germination and conditioning in water presented similar potential.
osmoconditioning; pau-formiga; germination
