QUEBRA DE DORMÊNCIA DE SEMENTES DE TOMATE PERA AMARELO

Abstract

Tomato is one of the most used vegetable products in the world and can be consumed fresh or processed. Some species and cultivars of the families Malvaceae, and Solanaceae have problems in germination due to seed dormancy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the dormancy breaking methods of yellow pear tomato seeds. The experiment was carried out in the seed analysis laboratory and in the greenhouse of Instituto Federal Goiano - Campus Ceres. Five treatments were used: mechanical scarification, potassium nitrate, heat shock, water imbibition and control (no dormancy breaking), and four replications. The seeds were submitted to the following analyses: seed purity, thousand seed weight, moisture content, germination, electrical conductivity, seedling dry mass, seedling emergence, emergence speed index and mean emergence time. Under laboratory conditions it is possible to affirm that the seeds of yellow pear tomato do not present dormancy. However, the mechanical scarification method should not be used because it causes damage to the seed coat and, consequently, prevents germination. The yellow pear tomato showed seed dormancy. The method by imbibition in water promoted greater development of tomato seedlings. The yellow pear tomato seeds present dormancy when submitted to the field test, it is necessary to use the imbibition treatment to overcome it. The dormancy breaking method by imbibition in water obtained better results for the variables emergence speed index, mean emergence time and seedling dry mass.