The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of sodium hypochlorite on the removal of the parchment and the acceleration of conilon coffee seed germination. Seeds of the Vitoria cultivar were obtained from fruits harvested at the cherry stage and pulped by hand. They were dried in a forced ventilation oven until 35, 30 and 25% moisture content on a wet basis. Sodium hypochlorite solution in concentrations of 4, 5, 6 and 7% active chlorine was applied to those seeds with parchment for periods of 3 and 6 hours. For each moisture content, there were three additional treatments consisting of seeds with parchment and seeds whose parchments had been removed mechanically and manually. The seeds were evaluated for: moisture content, germination, first count of the germination test and speed of the germination index. The experiment was a completely randomized design in a factorial 3 (degrees of water content) x 4 (concentrations of sodium hypochlorite) x 2 (time of immersion) + 9 (additional treatments) with four replications. Sodium hypochlorite at a concentration of 6% for 3 hours caused germination and a speed of germination index similar to the method of manual removal of the parchment, which is used in the laboratory. The mechanical removal of the parchment damaged coffee seeds, reducing their germination.
Coffea canephora; vigour; SGI; physiological quality
