Pre-soaking and the depth of sowing in the emergency of Copernicia prunifera (Miller) H. E. Moore

Abstract

Copernicia prunifera is a very important palm species. The importance of C. prunifera is based on the wax production, the use of the plant as a component of landscapes, and as a source of material for handcraft and agricultural products. The effects of the use of pre-soaked seeds and of different depths of sowing in the emergency and vigor of carnaúba seedling were studied in the present experiment, carried out in the Laboratory of Seed Analysis, of the Federal University of Ceará, in Fortaleza, from October, 2004 to February, 2005. C. prunifera seeds with and without pre-soaking treatment were sowed at the depths of 13, 18 and 21 mm, at 20 x 5 cm distant from each other, in an areno-argilous substrate in a stone cotter. The pre-soaked seeds were immersed in water until the cotiledonary petiole protrusion. A completely randomized design with four replications of 15 seeds each, displaced in a factorial design of 2 x 3 (seeds with and without pre-soaking and three depths), was used. After 120 days of sowing the following characteristics were analyzed: percentage, speed and average time of emergency; length and width of the first leaf; and the weight of dry matter of the aerial parts. For pre-soaked seeds was observed an increase in the percentage and in the velocity of emergency, as well as a lower average time emergency, in relation to other combination of factors. For production of C. prunifera seedlings it is recommended to sown pre-soaked seeds at 21 mm of depth.