Physiological quality of osmoprimed gherkin seeds

Abstract

It was aimed to verify the effect of different methodologies of osmopriming on physiological quality of gherkin seeds. Prior, it has been characterized the initial profile of the gherkin seeds. Then, the seeds were osmoprimed in gerboxes containing two blotter papers wetted with osmotic solutions in a volume equal to three times the paper dry weight and kept in BOD at 15 °C. After the priming, the seeds were dried at room temperature for 48 hours. Then, the following variables were evaluated: seeds moisture content, percentage of germination, percentage of emergence, emergence speed index and electrical conductivity. The analyses of variances were realized according to a randomized design in a factorial scheme 3 x 2 x 4: three solutes (polyetilene glycol 6000 - PEG, potassium nitrate - KNO3 and PEG + KNO3), two osmotic potentials (-0.55 and -1.10 MPa) and four times of priming (24, 48, 72 and 96 hours), followed by analyses of regression. It is concluded that the priming has no effect on germination and affects positively the vigor of the gherkin seeds lots; osmopriming with potassium nitrate is effective in improving the physiological quality of gherkin seeds lot.