Genetic variability of Erythrina speciosa using morphological parameters

Abstract

Erythrina speciosa is specie suitable for forest recuperation programm. As its seeds coats are impermeable to water absorption, the aim of this work was to study the change of biometric characters during seed germination and analyse the physiological quality of E. speciosa seeds from different sources. Therefore, seeds were collected from Capão Bonito and Ribeirão Grande, two municipilties of São Paulo State, Brazil, and were scarified. For each replicate were used 15 seeds. The germination test was conducted at 25 °C with photoperiod of 12 hours, using vermiculite packed in seedling boxes. We evaluated the germination percentage, germination speed index, seedling stem diameter and number of leaves. The results showed that the seeds of different sources showed wide variability in biometric characteristics, external dimensions and fresh weight, but such data did not correlate with seed germination and growth of seedlings in the nursery, so it is not necessary separate the seeds for seedling production process.