Open Access

ARTICLE

Evaluation of the viability and germination of tempisque [Sideroxylon capiri (A.DC.) Pittier Sapotaceae]

by Lazos-Monterrosa FA, C Orantes-García, O Farrera-Sarmiento, AG Verdugo-Valdez, MS Sánchez-Cortés, LE Ruíz-Meza

Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Ciencias y Artes de Chiapas, Libramiento Norte Poniente Nº. 1150, Colonia Lajas Maciel, C.P. 29039, Chiapas, México.

* Corresponding Authors:Address Correspondence to: Dra. Carolina Orantes García, e-mail:

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2015, 84(1), 138-143. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2015.84.138

Abstract

The tempisque (Sideroxylon capiri) is a tree native to Mexico used by the rural population for housing construction, poles and hedges, as fuel (wood) and also for fodder and ornamental purposes, among others. It is considered an endangered species. In order to contribute to its preservation and sustainable management, it was considered important to determine the proportion of viable seeds, the loss of viability due to storage period and the germination process by applying pregerminative treatments. We found that freshly collected seeds showed 100% viability, which decreased to 0% after 5 months of storage. According to the cumulative germination significant differences between treatments (p≤0.01) were found. It was observed that seeds can accelerate their time of germination with the previous exposure of 24 h in water at room temperature. The soaking treatment in water for 24 h at room temperature obtained final germination of 55%, while with the control 39% was reached. Soaking in hydrogen peroxide and scarification were the treatments with lower germination percentage (33 and 23%, respectively). To get a higher percentage of germinated seeds in a short time, it is necessary to give a soaking treatment in water for 24 h before sowing.

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Keywords

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