Do fruit morphology and scarification affect germination and predation rates of Babassu seeds?

Abstract

Seed predation is a natural phenomenon that can occur either before or after dispersal and can signifi cantly reduce the economic value and reproductive potential of plants. Th e babassu palm (Attalea vitrivir, Arecaceae) is important to rural communities that extract oil from its fruits for a wide variety of uses. We evaluated the predation and germination of A. vitrivirseeds in Pandeiros River Environmental Protection Area (EPA-Pandeiros) in Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Sixty individual plants were evaluated to determine their fruiting patterns. Seed predation and germination were evaluated in the natural environment for eight months for fruits divided into two treatments: scarifi ed and intact. Germination of fruits submitted to these same treatments was also evaluated under greenhouse conditions. Our results indicated that fruiting is continuous in this species and that fruit morphology does not infl uence either germination or predation. Likewise, fruit scarifi cation did not infl uence seed germination. Pachymerus cardo (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) preferentially oviposited on scarifi ed fruits, but only after their dispersal. Th e predation rate in the natural environment was 14.6%. Germination was not observed under natural conditions, but reached 33.05% under greenhouse conditions.

Amazonian Invertebrates in the Traditional diet of the Paiter Suruí in Southeastern Brazil

“…2 .b), but do not distinguish between larvae of different genera within the same entomological family (Coimbra Jr, 1984 ; Coimbra, 1985a ). Curculionidae larvae, mainly of the genus Rhynchophorus , called palm weevils, are considered major pests of palm crops worldwide (Gullan & Cranston, 2017 ; Cartay et al, 2020 ) because they feed on the seed embryo, as in the case of babassu (Ferreira et al, 2016 ).…”

Interspecific competition in germination of bird-dispersed seeds in a habitat with sparse tree vegetation in South Africa

“…It has been shown that post-dispersal seed competition is important in determining plant recruitment (Ferreira et al, 2016;Wang and Smith, 2002;Hulme, 1998). After primary seed dispersers (i.e., mammals and avian) have played their role, secondary seed dispersal may contribute in extending the distance from the rst seed deposition location and nding safe new microsites (Padilla et al, 2012).…”