Photoperiod and temperature on seed germination of passion fruit 'SCS437 Catarina'

Abstract

The passion fruit (Passiflora edulis Sims.) propagates by sexual reproduction and presents slow and uneven seed germination. This work has the goal of identifying a temperature and photoperiod that provide greater germination of the cultivar SCS 437 Catarina. We used an entirely randomized experimental design in a 2 x 3 + 1 factorial: two temperatures (alternating between 20/30 ºC and constant 25 ºC) and three photoperiods (8/16 – 8 hours of light and 16 hours of darkness; 12/12 – 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness; and absence of light), and for alternating temperature, an absence of light treatment was added, being classified as neutral photoblastic, and at a constant temperature of 25 ºC made germination unfeasible, while the 20/30 ºC alternating temperatures provided an average germination of 75%. The seeds showed an indifferent behavior to light, and the temperature alternated with 12/12 h photoperiod was the ideal condition to promote a higher percentage of germination.