Pre-germinative treatments in okra seeds in different stadiums of fruit maturation

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the influence of the pre-soak and of the thermotherapy in the germination and in the energy of the okra seeds (Abelmoschus esculentus) in different stadiums of maturation of the fruit. The design used was the entirely randomized with four repetitions, in a factorial outline 5 x 9, five maturation stadiums (green, semi-hard, hard, dry and dehiscent) and nine treatments pre-germination: pre-soak for immersion of the seeds in water to the temperature of 30ºC for 6, 12 and 24 hours; immersion of the seeds in water to 40, 50, 60 and 70ºC for 3 minutes; thermotherapy for immersion of the seeds in water to the ebullition temperature (97ºC) until cooling and intact seeds (control). The seeds were sowed in paper-towel rolls and they were maintained in camera type BOD regulated to 20-30ºC and photoperiod of 8-16 hours. The okra seeds originating from dry and dehiscent fruits presented larger germination performance. The pre-germination treatments more effective to accelerate the germination of seeds obtained from dry and dehiscent fruits are the pre-soak for 6 hours and thermotherapy at 60 °C for 3 minutes, respectively.