SANITARY QUALITY AND GERMINATION OF FAVA DE BOLOTA SEEDS (Parkia platycephala)

Abstract

The knowledge of the physiological and sanitary characteristics of seeds is essential for quality control of
seedlings, especially in forest species such as fava de bolota (Parkia platycephala Benth). The present work
aimed to evaluate the incidence of fungi in fava de bolota seeds. The study was conducted fava de bolota seeds
extracted from ripe fruits, collected from several mother plants (18) in the city of Palmas. To assess seed’s
health, the 'Blotter test' method and plating on potato dextrose agar (PDA) culture medium were tested, with
more colony formations obtained when compared to the other method. We carried out the tests using 100
seeds, with 25 seeds in each health assessment as replicates. The incubation was carried out in a growth
chamber with a controlled temperature ± 25°C, a photoperiod of 12 hours, for three days. The germination test
was carried out at a constant temperature of 25ºC, in the presence of light. The first count was made seven
days after sowing and the last one fifteen days after sowing. Fungi of the genera Aspergillus sp. (56%),
Periconia sp. (32%), Rhizoctonia sp. (28%), Alternaria sp. (12%) and Penicillium spp. (10%) were found in
fava de bolota seeds. From the values obtained in the germination test, it was verified that four matrices (7;
10; 16, and 17) showed a higher percentage of germination than the other matrices studied.