Could the umbel order selection and GA3 treatment improve seed germination in Amazon chicory species?Could the umbel order selection and GA3 treatment improve seed germination in Amazon chicory species?

Larissa da Fonseca Moraes,Francisco Laurimar do Nascimento Andrade,Rafaelle Fazzi Gomes,Lucas da Silva Santos

doi:10.1590/1678-4499.20200404

Larissa da Fonseca Moraes, Francisco Laurimar do Nascimento Andrade + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-4499.20200404

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Abstract

ABSTRACT This study aimed to estimate the production of seeds per umbel and to assess both the effect of gibberellic acid (GA3) and umbel order on seed germination in Amazon chicory species. The experiment was conducted in two steps. Firstly, traits related to seed production were evaluated. Afterward, a germination test was carried out, and the following parameters were assessed: germination speed index (GSI), average germination time (AGT), germination percentage (%G), percentage of abnormal seedlings (%AS), and percentage of non-germinated seeds (%NGS). Remarkably, there was strong interaction between the analysed factors. The highest production of seeds per plant was observed in the treatment containing the blend of seeds from different umbels (1.41 g·plant-1), in which the number of umbels by order and the total number of seeds per plant were the major traits related to the improved yield. The application of GA3 at 200 mg·dm-3 increased %G in second-order seeds. Regardless of GA3 application, seeds from secondary umbels showed shorter AGT by up to two days, while no difference in GSI was observed. Collectively, these results offer novel and timely information on the seed germination behavior in Amazon chicory, revealing practical advice of utmost importance for local producers.

Highlights

Seed dormancy has an ecological function in several plant species and it is one of the main means of survival and preservation in adverse ecosystems
By evaluating seed production in Amazon chicory under a protected environment, differences were observed in the Number of umbels per order (NUO), Mass of 100 seeds (M100), Total number of seeds per plant (TNSP) and Seed production per plant (SPP) (Table 1)
An overall average of 76 seeds per umbel was verified. This outcome is relevant due to the lack of reports on this vegetable species in the current literature. This information may be used for further estimates of seed production in Amazon chicory species

Summary

Introduction

Seed dormancy has an ecological function in several plant species and it is one of the main means of survival and preservation in adverse ecosystems. It presents an indeterminate flowering pattern consisting of different inflorescence orders called umbels (Singh et al 2014). In these plants, the presence of seeds at distinct stages is quite common, a feature that makes it difficult to obtain satisfactory germination percentages (Ekpong and Sukprakarn 2006)

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