Germination of physic nut seeds in different temperatures, light and substrates

Abstract

The physic nut crop (Jatropha curcas L.) has been gaining some importance in the last years due to its use as a raw material for biodiesel production. The Physic nut can be propagated through stakes and/ or seeds. In this context, it was developed this study in order to evaluate the effects of the substrate, temperature and light on the germination and germination speed index (GSI) of physic nut seeds. The experimental design used was a factorial 4x2x2 with temperature (25, 30, 35 and 40 °C) x substrate (sand and paper) x light (presence and absence) with three replicates per treatment. The best germination percentages were obtained with the temperatures of 25, 30 and 35 °C with light and 30 ºC in light absence for the sand substrate and at a temperature of 30°C, whether in presence or absence of light for the paper substrate. The sowing in sand without light at 30 °C was that best promoted the seedling development with higher GSI. The combination of substrate between sand, temperature of 30 °C and  absence of light showed the best condition for evaluating germination and GSI of physic nut seeds.