OVERCOMING DORMANCY IN STORED AND RECENTLY HARVESTED Passiflora cincinnata Mast. SEEDS

The treatment of seeds using growth regulators can overcome seed dormancy and increase the emergence and development of seedlings. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of different concentrations of GA(4+7) + N-(phenyl methyl)-aminopurine on the dormancy breaking of Passiflora cincinnata Mast. seeds recently harvested and stored for six years. The study was conducted in a greenhouse at Embrapa Cassava and Tropical Fruits, in completely randomized design, in a 2 x 4 factorial scheme, with the following factors: year of seed harvest (2010 and 2016) and the emergence promoter GA(4+7) + N-(phenyl methyl)-aminopurine at four concentrations (0%; 0.03%; 0.45% and 0.90%), with 4 replicates of 25 seeds. Emergence percentage, first count, emergence speed index, number of leaves, root length, stem diameter, dry matter of shoots, roots and total, and root/shoot ratio were evaluated. The results showed that GA(4+7) + N-(phenyl methyl)-aminopurine is recommended to overcome dormancy of Passiflora cincinnata in recently harvested seeds (2016) and increase the emergence of seedlings from seeds stored for six years in cold chamber (2010). The emergence promoter concentration of 0.03% can be used to overcome dormancy in recently harvested seeds and maintains the vigor of seeds stored for six years. Passiflora cincinnata seeds remain physiologically viable for six years and their emergence is potentiated by the use of GA(4+7) + N-(phenyl methyl)-aminopurine.