Physiological performance of açai seeds (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) stored with different moisture contents and treated with fungicide

Abstract

-The expansion of açai production has increased the importance of management of seeds used for replanting or expanding the plantation areas. Thus, the aim of this work was to evaluate the performance of açai seeds with different moisture contents, treated or untreated with fungicide, and stored for 180 days. The seeds were divided into three moisture levels (35%, 30% and 20%), and with or without fungicide treatment, with four storage evaluation periods (0, 60, 120 and 180 days). They were packed in plastic bags and kept in natural environment. The experimental design was completely randomized, with a 3 x 2 x 4 factorial scheme (moisture contents x treated or untreated with fungicide x period of evaluation), with four replications of 50 seeds each. The following tests were conducted: moisture content, germination, tetrazolium test, seedling emergence, seedling emergence speed and X-ray. Açai seeds with 35% and 30% moisture contents treated with fungicide showed a better physiological quality in relation to the untreated ones. Storage longer than 120 days reduced seed germination to values below 50%, regardless of whether they were treated or not with fungicide, although the reduction was greater in untreated seeds. The fungicide treatment is efficient in controlling fungi in açai seeds with 30% and 20% moisture content for up to 180 days of storage, and in seeds with 35% moisture content for up to 60 days of storage.

Rapid results of peach palm seed viability: a methodological proposition for the tetrazolium test

“…Using the tetrazolium solution at 1% had the best correlation with the germination test. This concentration has also been indicated for assessing the seeds of other Arecaceae palms, such as E. oleracea Mart (açai) (Lima et al, 2018). Although there was no statistical difference in staining for 2 or 4 h (Figure 5), the 4-hour period delivered Journal of Seed Science, v.42, e202042034, 2020 more consistent results.…”

“…Cutting longitudinally, adjacent to the embryo ( Figure 1A), is a technique similar to the one used for the tetrazolium testing in E. edulis (Oliveira et al, 2014) and E. oleracea seeds (Lima et al, 2018). This type of cut favors the evaluation Figure 2.…”

Determination of Moisture Content and Storage Potential of Guanandi Seeds

“…Other works on the storage of forest species have reported similar results in maintaining moisture when this type of packaging was used, as recalcitrant seeds of Euterpe espiritosantensis for 30 weeks (MARTINS et al, 2007), Talisia esculenta for 100 days (SENA et al, 2016) and Euterpe oleracea for 180 days (LIMA et al, 2018). In recalcitrant species, the polyethylene packaging has been efficient in maintaining the viability of seeds, since the fact of being semipermeable makes it difficult to exchange water vapor between seeds and environment; however, it allows the exchange of essential gases to maintain their viability, such as oxygen, which is necessary because the metabolic activities of recalcitrant seeds remain active during the storage period (PUPIM et al, 2009;NASCIMENTO et al, 2010;SOUZA et al, 2011;FERRAZ, 2015).…”

Emergence and initial growth of açaí palm under different light levels after seed dormancy breaking treatments

“…It is adapted to flooded soils and floodplains (Lorenzi et al, 1996), is among the ten most economically important palm trees in South America (Vedel-Sorensen et al, 2013), and ranks 6th among the most produced fruit trees in Brazil de acordo com o Anuário Brasileiro de Horti & Frut 2022 (Kist et al, 2022). Açaí pulp and palm hearts have been generating interest in the export market because of their high nutritional value, as they provide a source of proteins, vitamins, fibers, and lipids, and have a high caloric value (Lima, 2018).…”