To what extent does the seed mass affect the quality of libidibia ferrea (mart. ex tul.) l. p. queirozseedlings?
International Journal of Development Research
To what extent does the seed mass affect the quality of libidibia ferrea (mart. ex tul.) l. p. queirozseedlings?
Received 06th May, 2021; Received in revised form 19th June, 2021; Accepted 03rd July, 2021; Published online 29th August, 2021
Copyright © 2021, Priscila Cordeiro Souto et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Seed mass is a physical parameter that, for many species, is directly related to the physiological potential of the seeds and, consequently, to the quality of the resulting seedling. Thus, our research aimed to investigate to what extent the seed mass can influence the physiological potential of the L. ferrea seedlings. The seeds were classified, according to their individual mass, into small (≤ 0.14 g), medium (0.15 ≤ x ≤ 0.19 g), and large (≥ 0.20 g). Initially, the water content and weight of a thousand seeds were determined. The vigor of the seeds was evaluated using the emergence percentage, emergence speed index, collar diameter, height, number of leaves, and dry mass of plants. The collar diameter, height, and number of leaves evaluations were performed monthly. The seed mass presented a direct relation with the physiological potential of the seeds, influencing the growth of the seedlings until the 60 DAS, with superiority of the large seeds (≥ 0.20 g). Thus, the seeds of L. ferrea with mass ≥ 0.20 g should be prioritized by nurseries, foresters and local communities to produce seedlings with high physiological potential.
