Emergence of Coccoloba gigantifolia Melo, Cid Ferreira & Gribel seedlings as a function of raceme and fruit maturation

Abstract

Coccoloba gigantifolia fruits show uneven maturation within each raceme, which can affect the quality of the seeds. This study aimed to characterize racemes, fruits, and seeds, after harvest, and evaluate the physiological performance of the seeds as a function of the fruit maturation stage. After characterization, two experiments were set up. In the first, a completely randomized design was used, in a 4 (racemes) x 4 (fruit maturation stages: green, half-green, red, and purple) factorial scheme, with 4 replications. In the second, a randomized block design was adopted, in a 4 (fruit maturation stages) x 2 (with and without seed drying) factorial scheme, with 4 replications. Fruit maturation occurs progressively within each raceme, with fruits from completely green to completely purple in color existing at the same time. In propagation, preference should be given to harvesting racemes with a greater number of fruits in the half-green, red, and purple stages, since seeds from green fruits have low physiological quality. In addition to the variation in emergence as a function of fruit maturation, the seeds of the different racemes also showed different behaviors, which seems to be associated with different levels of seed dormancy.