Influence of size and scarification in the emergency and establishment of Pterodon emarginatus diaspores

Abstract

This study aimed to verify the influence of the size of the diaspores and scarification treatments on the emergence rate and initial growth of Pterodon emarginatus Vog. (Fabaceae) after one year of storage. Diaspores of the species were collected, measured, weighed and separated into three size classes, with amplitude determined by the width of the fruit. Subsequently, they were submitted to thermal and mechanical scarification. A randomized experimental design was used, with 10 replicates of 10 units / each. We performed a survival analysis, besides analysis of variance and Tukey post-hoc test to verify significant differences in the percentage of diaspores emergence. We used generalized linear models to verify the variation in the initial growth of the seedlings. Our results indicated that treatments intercropped with the largest diaspore sizes positively influenced the percentage of emergence. Larger diaspores also resulted in larger diameter seedlings and stem length. Mechanical scarification led to a higher biomass allocation in the roots. We suggest that P. emarginatus diaspores should be submitted to pre-germination treatments to potentiate seedling emergence and development. We also recommend choosing the largest diaspores.