The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of the presence or absence of gibberellic acid in the conditioning solution and drying, before and after osmotic conditioning, on papaya seed viability and vigor. The seeds were placed in solutions of PEG-6000 at -0.1 MPa, -1.0 MPa and in distilled water with two levels of GA3, 0 or 200 mg.L-1. A completely randomized experimental design with four replications in a 3 x 2 + 2 factorial design was employed with three combinations of conditioning and drying: 1. Seeds conditioned after extracted from fruit, with 67.0% moisture content; 2. Dry seeds (11.5%) and conditioned; and 3. Dry seeds conditioned and redried to 11.5%, with two levels of GA3 (0 and 200 mg.L-1). Two additional treatments, both without conditioning, one using seeds with 67% moisture content and another with dry seeds with 11.5% moisture content were also tested. Moisture content (%), germination at 14, 21 and 28 days (%), electrical conductivity (µs/cm/g), seedling dry weight (g) and seedling length (mm) were evaluated. The seeds conditioned in lower osmotic potential solution and in the presence of gibberellic acid improved the papaya seed germination. Drying the conditioned seeds decreased the seed vigor and the viability, regardless of presence or absence of gibberellic acid.
germination; conditioning; plant growth regulator; papaya
