Practical method for germination of Araucaria angustifolia (Bert.) O. Ktze. seeds

Abstract

The germination of seeds of Araucaria angustifolia (Brazilian Pine) is generally a slow and fastidious process that causes loss of many seeds because of the incidence of pathogens. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether seeds with cut edges present greater germination percentages or precocity when compared to untreated, normal seeds. The experimental design was completely randomized design with 100 pre-cut and 100 non-treated seeds. The experiment was installed twice, in 1998 and 1999, from fresh seeds. Pre-cut seed germination was higher: 92 and 95% respectively, whereas whole seed germination was 60 and 64% in the two experiments. Seedlings originated from pre-cut seeds were uniform and showed less fungal contaminants.