Qualidade fisiolÛgica de sementes de araÁazeiro durante o armazenamento

Abstract: The present work had the objective of evaluating different storage environments andpackings in relation to the efficiency in the maintenance of the quality of the seeds of ‚AracAE™(Psidium guineense Swartz), during 180 days. The seeds were obtained from fully ripened recently-harvested fruits of eight accesses of the active germoplasm bank of the ‚Aracazeiro™ located in theExperimental Station of Agricultural Research Organization of the State of Pernambuco at Itapirema,Goiana-PE, and denominated as IPA 4, IPA 6, IPA 7, IPA 9, IPA 10, IPA 11, IPA 15 and IPA 16. Theexperiment was represented by the combinations of the following factors: seeds of 8 accesses of the‚Aracazeiro™, conditioned in the Kraft paper bags and glass, stored under environmental conditions ofRecife-PE, and in a freezer. The physiological quality of the seeds was evaluated at the beginning andat every 60 days of storage, through the germination and vigor (first count germination and index ofgermination speed). The results showed that the physiological quality of the seeds was reduced withsignificant losses in the germination and vigor during the storage period. The glass packing providedlarger efficiency in the conservation of the physiological quality of the seeds, under conditions ofhigh relative humidity inside the freezer, which provoked lar ger deterioration of the seeds conditionedin Kraft paper bags. Among the environment of storage tested, the most efficient in the conservationof the seeds of the ‚Aracazeiro™ was the storage under normal environmental condition for bothpackings. The accesses IPA 4 and IPA 6 presented the highest germination indexes and vigor.Key words: Psidium guineense, germination, vigor, conservation, packing