The objective of this study was to determine the time needed to conduct the germination test for Panicum maximum cv. Tanzania. Thirty seed lots were evaluated for germination and to identify the completion date of the test, daily counts of the number of normal seedlings were made. In the germination test, treatments for breaking dormancy (KNO3 (0.2%), H2SO4 (98% 36N)), and alternating temperatures (20-30 °C and 15-35 °C) were used and a growth curve for germination evaluation was adjusted accordingly. It was concluded that the germination test of Tanzania grass at alternating temperature of 15-35 °C with a photoperiod of 16 h-8 h (78μmol s-1 m-2/8 h), in a substrate containing KNO3, is the most suitable for obtaining the maximum percentage germination (89%) in the shortest time (four days). At the alternating temperature of 20-30 ºC, germination rates reached 81% to 83% in five to six days. Treatment with H2SO4 adversely affected the germination rate regardless of the temperature.
germination; dormancy; temperature
