Anatomy and Germination of Erythrina velutina Seeds under a Different Imbibition Period in Gibberellin

Abstract

The knowledge of the physiological aspects of Caatinga’s vegetal species is extremely important for preserving this biome, which suffers with human impacts, mainly to select propagation methods. Erythrina velutina is a Brazilian tree, generally found in Caatinga, with medical and forestry potential. The objective of this paper was to determine the best soaking period in gibberellin solution to achieve the highest germination and to evaluate the internal anatomy by digital microtomography of E. velutina seeds. The design was completely randomized and consisted of eight treatments: 1, 3, 6, 12, 24 and 48 h of soaking, scarified seeds and the control with no-scarified seeds. Digital microtomography was efficient in describing the anatomy of the seeds and distinguishing their tissues. There was no significant difference between the treatments at different soaking times, as the gibberellic acid did not influence the germination; only the control presented a lower germination percentage, differing from the other treatments. The study presents evidence that E. velutina seeds do not require the exogenous use of gibberellic acid, but only the scarification process. In addition, the use of digital microtomography can be useful in understanding the anatomy of seeds, especially forest species, which can contribute to the future studies of other plant species.

Dormancy-breaking treatments for enhancing seed germination in plant Kitaibela vitifolia Willd.

“…Similar results were obtained by Stejskalová et al (2015) in sycamore seeds. Contrastingly, there are many studies that have demonstrated improved seed germination by treatment with GA 3 (Gashi et al, 2019;Cornea-Cipcigan et al, 2020;Uçarli, 2021;Guariz et al, 2022).…”

Influence of Nitric oxide donor nanoencapsulation on Dyckia excelsa Lema (Bromeliaceae) germination

“…The interaction between levels of hormones, enzymes and moisture have a fundamental role in the seed germination (Guariz et al, 2022). NO has a positive effect on several plant cellular procedures, including: Breaking seed dormancy, growth and plant defense against stress.…”