Adaptation Of the exudate pH Test for seeds of Astronium urundeuva (M.Allemão) Engl.

Abstract

Abstract

The need for rapid tests to evaluate the vigor of forest seeds for conservation and species multiplication purposes is increasingly significant. This study aimed to adapt the exudate pH test for the evaluation of Astronium urundeuva seeds, commonly known as "aroeira-do-sertão." The study was conducted at the Forest Seed Analysis Laboratory of the Forestry Science Department, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (UFRPE), using five seed lots. The initial characterization of the lots included the following tests: moisture content, thousand-seed weight, first germination count, germination speed index and germination percentage. Three seed quantities (25, 30, and 40 seeds per lot), three volumes of deionized water (50, 75, and 100 mL), and four evaluation periods (3, 6, 12, and 24 hours) were tested, totaling 36 treatments. A completely randomized design (CRD) in a triple factorial scheme (seed number × water volume × time) with four replicates per lot was applied. Data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA), and mean comparisons were conducted using Tukey’s test (p ≤ 0.05) through the Rbio program. The results demonstrated that the exudate pH test is efficient for evaluating the vigor of A. urundeuva seeds. The most suitable methodology involved 50 mL of distilled water, 12 hours of imbibition, and 30 seeds. These approaches are efficient and require reduced amounts of water, time, and seeds while providing reliable results.