Water stress and seed water content can affect the first stages of germination and prejudice crop establishment. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of substrate water availability and seed water content on crambe germination and to verify any harmful effects of seed imbibition. The treatments consisted of FMS Brilhante crambe seeds with 7.0%, 12.8%, 18.4% and 21.9% moisture content, submitted to substrate water availability of 0.0 (control); -0.1; -0.2 and -0.4 MPa. Seeds were sown on two germination papers and placed inside plastic boxes at a constant 25 ºC. Seed physiological quality was evaluated from the first count, percentage germination, hipocotyl and primary root lengths and seedling fresh and dry weights. The experimental design was completely randomized with four replications of 50 seeds for each treatment. As substrate water availability decreased, the germinability was reduced for all seed moisture contents, especially for seeds with 7.0% and 12.8% moisture contents, resulting in less than 48% normal seedlings at -0,4 MPa. Despite a reduction in the parameters due to water deficiency, the extension of the damage in crambe seeds is determined by the seed water content and the severity of the water stress.
Crambe abyssinica; polyethylene glycol; physiological quality
