The use of chia seeds as food is increasing as well as its culture, which leads to the need for quality monitoring of seeds and the establishment of standards for such, non-existent in Brazil. This paper evaluates the effect of two temperatures (18 and 25 °C) and three substrates (between-paper, on-paper and paper-roll) on chia seed germination. A completely randomized design in 2 x 3 factorial arrangement with four replications of 100 seeds was carried out. Each replicate was individually wrapped in gearbox box kept in chambers of BOD (18 °C) and Mangelsdorf (25 °C). The evaluation of the percentage of germination was performed on 7 and 14 days by counting the germinated seeds. There was no interaction between factors and the temperature of 25 °C showed better results for the germination of chia seeds (95%), regardless of substrates. The paper-between substrate performed best showing 84% germination at 18 °C.Additional keywords: Salvia hispanica; seeds quality; viability. ResumoO uso das sementes de chia na alimentação está aumentando, assim como seu cultivo, que leva à necessidade de monitoramento de qualidade de sementes bem como ao estabelecimento de normas para tal, inexistentes no Brasil. Objetivou-se com o presente trabalho avaliar o efeito de duas temperaturas (18 e 25 °C) e três substratos (entre papel, sobre papel e rolo de papel) em testes de germinação de sementes de chia. Adotou-se o delineamento inteiramente casualizado, em esquema fatorial (2 × 3), com quatro repetições de 100 sementes. As repetições foram acondicionadas em câmara do tipo BOD (18 °C) e germinadores Mangelsdorf (25 °C). A avaliação da percentagem de germinação foi realizada aos 7 e aos 14 dias, mediante a contagem das sementes germinadas. Houve interação entre os fatores, sendo que a temperatura de 25 °C apresentou melhores resultados para a germinação das sementes de chia (95%), independentemente dos substratos. Com a temperatura de 18 °C, o substrato entre papel teve o melhor desempenho, apresentando 84% de germinação.Palavras-chave adicionais: qualidade de sementes; Salvia hispanica; viabilidade.

Studies of feijoa adaptability in different locations, with specific weather conditions can be useful for the cultivation of the species. The objective of this work was to study aspects of reproductive biology (pollen viability and fruit set under different methods of pollination) and flowering phenology of feijoa in regions of marginal species occurrence. Progenies of five different crosses were evaluated in 2011 in Pato Branco and Dois Vizinhos, Paraná, Brazil. Effective fruit set was low with manual self-pollination and open pollination, but was higher with manual cross-pollination, demonstrating a lack of pollinators or even self-incompatibility in some progenies. For both sites, pollen viability was extremely low and atypical for the species. The flowering period of feijoa started earlier and was extended in these marginal regions. Manual pollination is required for a good fruit set.

The objective of this paper was to determine the physiological behavior and seed quality of five genotypes of Acca sellowiana regarding desiccation. Seeds were obtained from five plants of urban backyards in the cities of Dois Vizinhos - PR (A1, A2) and Vacaria - RS (A3, A4, A5). The experiment was conducted in a bifactor arrangement (5x3), with five genotypes and three levels of water content (28%, 15% and 5%), arranged into complete randomized block design, with four replicates of 50 seeds each. Seeds were germinated on absorbent paper soaked with water, being kept in BOD chamber under temperature of 25±3°C with photoperiod of 16 hours. Germination percentage, speed index and average time were assessed by counting seeds every two days for 50 days, starting from the moment of radicle emergence. No significant differences were observed for germination percentage and all genotypes surpassing 79% of germination. Desiccation of seeds had low influence on germination speed index and average time of germination, although genotype influence was verified due to genetic variability. Genotype A5 has seeds with superior quality from the others. Acca sellowiana seeds have orthodox behavior.