Water immersion and one-year storage influence seed germination of Copernicia alba palm tree from a neotropical wetland

Abstract

Copernicia alba (Morong ex Morong & Britton) is a palm tree native to tropical and subtropical climates, commonly named “carandá”, that often forms monodominant populations in the Pantanal wetland in Brazil. Currently, the knowledge of the seed germination behavior of C. alba is still limited, as well as seed viability in ex-situ conservation under laboratory conditions. Hence, this study investigated the effect of water treatments and a one-year storage period (at 19°C under a relative humidity of 45%) on its germination. We subjected fresh and stored seeds to immersion in water at room temperature (~25°C) for 24, 48, and 72 h; and hot water (~75°C) for 5 min and 10 min. The results showed that seeds do not have primary dormancy, with fresh seeds germinating 84% in the control. Additionally, fresh seeds had a significant increase in germination percentage (reaching 100%) and faster germination times after immersion in water for 48 and 72 h. On the other hand, hot water treatments decreased germination for both fresh and stored seeds. One year of storage reduced the germination capacity by almost 50%. We concluded that seeds of C. alba may be easily germinated under laboratory conditions for seedling production, and water immersion at room temperature can improve the germination of fresh seeds. However, long-term seed storage and hot-water treatments may jeopardize germination. Future studies should further investigate ex-situ conservation of seed of C. alba under extended periods, considering seed desiccation and alternative storage conditions, to improve seed conservation techniques .