Physiological maturity of Physalis angulata L. seeds

Willen Ramos Santiago,Salvador Barros Torres,Gianluigi Bacchetta,Juliana Simões Nobre Gama

doi:10.5935/1806-6690.20190051

Willen Ramos Santiago, Salvador Barros Torres + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.5935/1806-6690.20190051

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Abstract

Determination of seed physiological maturity allows predicting the most appropriate time for harvest, aiming to obtain seeds with high physiological potential. Physalis angulata (Solanaceae) has pharmacological and agro-industrial potential, but there is little information on its reproductive phenology. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the physiological maturity of P. angulata seeds according to fruit age. Fruits were harvested at 7, 14, 21, 28 and 35 days after anthesis (DAA) and the following evaluations were conducted: fruit weight and diameter, seed moisture content, 100-seed dry weight, 1000-seed weight, electrical conductivity, germination, germination first count, emergence, and seedling dry weight and length. The experimental design was completely randomized. Fruit weight and diameter increased until 35 DAA and seed dry weight increased until 21 DAA. Highest seed physiological potential occurred at 35 DAA, with highest germination percentage (97%). The results allow concluding that P. angulata seeds become physiologically viable from 21 DAA, with highest physiological potential at 35 DAA. However, harvest should be carried out around 28 DAA, before fruits fall.

Highlights

Physalis angulata L. is a herb plant with annual cycle, belonging to the Solanaceae family, which occurs all over the national territory of Brazil, especially in its Northern and Northeastern regions (KRINSKI, 2013)
Regular increments were observed in fruit fresh weight (FW) and fruit diameter (FD) along the evaluation period, even close to senescence, which allowed fitting a linear model for both variables (FW: F = 462.8; P = 0.000; FD: F = 666.4; P = 0.000) (Figure 1 A and B)
Both fruit weight and diameter were lower than the mean values obtained by Oliveira et al (2011) (4.3 g and 18.6 mm), for P. angulata plants grown spontaneously in Belém-PA

Summary

Introduction

Physalis angulata L. is a herb plant with annual cycle, belonging to the Solanaceae family, which occurs all over the national territory of Brazil, especially in its Northern and Northeastern regions (KRINSKI, 2013). It is an essentially wild species, whose nutritional and medicinal properties impart high pharmacological and agro-industrial potential (OLIVEIRA et al, 2011). As its fruits commonly show uneven maturation, this may result in seeds with different levels of physiological quality. Determination of criteria that make it possible to associate the physiological development of the seed with its physical aspects, and those of fruits, allows estimating the most appropriate time for harvest, so as to coincide with the point of physiological maturity (BEWLEY et al, 2013; MARCOS-FILHO, 2015)

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