RESPOSTA FISIOLÓGICA DE SEMENTES DE MAMÃO SUBMETIDAS AO CONDICIONAMENTO OSMÓTICO

Abstract

Priming promotes physiological and biochemical changes in seeds which contribute to the improvement in germination and vigor of the lots. The objective of this study was to evaluate the physiological response promoted by priming lots of papaya seeds after 12 months of storage. Seed lots were obtained through different methods of removing the seeds sarcotesta and stored in a refrigerator for 12 months. After this time, the lots were conditioned in PEG 6000 MPa/48h -0.8 solution, -1.2 MPa/48h PEG 6000 solution, 0.34 KNO3 M/48h solution; H2O/24h and H2O/48h. The temperature during the treatments was 25 Celsius degrees. Seeds not conditioned were used in the control. The design was completely randomized with four replicates, and treatment in a factorial scheme (4 x 6 lots conditioning). The effects of the treatments were tested by F test (< 0.01). Papaya seeds KNO3 solution conditioned accelerated the onset of germination in seeds without sarcotesta, promoting favorable response in the vigor of seed lots. Accelerated aging reduced the germination of the lots. After aging, the conditioning in PEG solution promoted improvement in the physiological quality of the lots.