MORPHOMETRY OF THE SEEDS OF Senna alata (L.) Roxb. AND PRE-HYDRATION PERIODS IN THE GERMINATIVE PROCESS

Abstract

Senna alata (L.) Roxb. is a perennial legume of shrub character cultivated as ornamental in some states. The objective was to evaluate the morphometry of pods, seeds, germination and the effect of prehydration times on the suppression of dormancy and on the physiological behavior of the seeds. The experiment was conducted at the Federal Rural University of Amazonia - Capanema campus, where 150 pods of different lengths were collected. The length and width of the pod, number of seeds per pod, height and width of the seed and fresh weight of 1000 seeds were measured. In the germination test, 5 containers of 240 cm² with 25 seeds were used. For the emergency test the DIC was used, with 3 treatments and 5 replicates, with 54 seeds, being the treatments: seeds without prehydration, hydrated for 12 and 24 hours. The results showed that there is a positive correlation between the length of the pod and the number of seeds, with the largest variances being the highest number of seeds. The hydration for a period of 12h conferred a shorter time and higher emergence speed, as well as greater root growth and the pre-hydration performed for 24 hours resulted in lower rates of emergence, reducing the germination potential of the seeds.