The experiment was the simultaneous evaluation of the effect of pre-soaking with water and giberelic acid application on macela (Egletes viscosa) seed germination. The treatments were disposed in a factorial arrangement 3x3 (pre-soaking of the seeds with water for 0, 24 and 48 hours and moistening of the substract with giberelic acid - GA3, at the concentrations of 0, 100 and 300ppm) in a completely randomized design, with four replications. The seeds were sown for germination on filter paper, in 9 cm diameter Petri plates, lined with two filter paper disks (50 seeds per plate), with a initial amount of water (0ppm of GA3) or aqueous GA3 solution (100 and 300ppm), equivalent to two times the paper weight. The plates were stored in a germination chamber, with alternated temperature of 20-30°C and photoperiod of 8 hours under light, 30°C, and 16 hours of darkness, 20°C. Daily countings were made for 40 days after the sowing in order to determine the percentage, rate and the average time of germination. The analysis of the obtained results permitted the conclusion that pre-soaking the seeds in the water (24 and 48h) and the substrate humidification with GA3 (100 and 300ppm) increased the germination percentage and rate and reduced the average germination time.
Egletes viscosa; medicinal plant; pre-treatment; physiological quality
