Heat-treatment and germination of oil palm seeds (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.)

Under natural conditions the germination of oil palm seeds may take years, and it is usually uneven and has a very low rate. To increase the germination rate it is necessary to break the dormancy, through heat-treatment (HT). In the germination of oil palm seeds produced by Embrapa Western Amazon the HT used is at 40 °C during 80 days. The objective of this study was to evaluate the periods of 40, 50, 60 and 80 days of HT at 40 °C on seeds germination of six oil palm cultivars BRS C2001, BRS C2328, BRS C2501, BRS C2528, BRS C3701 and BRS C7201. The statistical design was randomized block, 6 x 4 factorial, with four replications of 500 seeds each. The minimum HT period for maximum germination ranged from 45 days for BRS C2328 (70%) to 80 days for BRS C2528 (84%). For BRS C7201 was not observed significant effect of the HT period for seed germination, estimated as 82%. The maximum germination of oil palm seeds varies with the duration of heat treatment. With the exception of cultivar BRS C2528, heat treatment may be less than 80 days.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Green,Márcia, Lima,Wanderlei Antonio Alves, Figueiredo,Antenor Francisco de, Atroch,André Luiz, Lopes,Ricardo, Cunha,Raimundo Nonato Vieira da, Teixeira,Paulo Cesar
Format:	Digital revista
Language:	English
Published:	ABRATES - Associação Brasileira de Tecnologia de Sementes 2013
Online Access:	http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2317-15372013000300004
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