Características dos frutos e sementes e potencial germinativo de genótipos de cubiu (Solanum sessiliflorum Dunal).

Abstract

Cubiu is a species that arouses great interest due to its characteristics, such asrusticity, productivity, use diversity and nutritional properties. Knowledge pertaining to this species’phenotypic variations, as well as seed germination, will contribute to accomplish its full potential.This work aimed to assess fruits and seeds characteristics, and potassium nitrate (KNO3)pretreatment effects on seeds’ germination and vigor of nine genotypes cubiu. In the experiments,completely randomized design was adopted, being: for characteristics offruits and seeds, with ninetreatments (genotypes) and ten repetitions; germination, in factorial scheme 9 (genotypes) x 2 (pre-treatments - with and without KNO3), with four replications; and emergency, nine treatments(genotypes) and four repetitions. Related to the characteristics of the fruits and seeds, weremeasured: length, diameter, mass, volume, density, number of locules, pulp thickness, total solublesolids, seed mass and number of seeds per fruit. In germination and emergence tests, wereevaluated: root emission, normal seedling, emergence, root-emission/seedling/emergence speedindex, and root-emission/seedling/emergence mean time. The cubiu genotypes showed differentbehaviors regarding the characteristics ofthe fruits and seeds, the most significant ones related tothe dimensions, mass and volume ofthe fruit, and the weight ofthousand seeds. The genotypes hadlittle variation in relation to the germination and vigor ofthe seeds, and the use ofKNO3(0.2%), inthe initial moistening of the substrate, favored the greater expression of the germinative potential(91-100%) and vigor ofthe seeds, under laboratory conditions.