Use of different conditioning agents and quality evaluation of two lots of annatto (<i>Bixa orellana</i>) seeds

Abstract

Due to the low germination of annatto seeds (Bixa orellana L.), it is necessary to test different techniques that facilitate and enable its production, such as the use of the physiological conditioning method. Here, we aimed to characterize the germination of two annatto seed lots under physiological conditioning. For this, two lots of seeds (newly-collected and stored) were submitted to physiological conditioning using an aerated solution of 1) deionized water; 2) cathodic water; 3) potassium nitrate 0.3%; 4) sodium nitroprusside 100 µM; for 24h and 48h, and an additional treatment (control) without conditioning. After the germination test, ungerminated seeds were submitted to a tetrazolium test at 0.075% at 30 °C, in the dark for 24 h. We used a completely randomized factorial design (4 x 2 + 1) with four replications of 25 seeds per treatment. Despite the low germination already mentioned in the literature for this species, we obtained high germination without any type of dormancy-break pretreatment, even in lots stored for over 10 years with a water content of 8%, characterizing this species as non-dormant. The germination and viability of Bixa orellana were influenced by seed water content decrease. The conditioning agents were not efficient to increase annatto seed germination. Further studies are needed to classify these seeds according to their storability.