Water memory in moringa seeds (Moringa oleifera Lam.)

Resumen

Moringa is a plant native to India, with a wide distribution worldwide, ranging from Asia to Africa, with more occurrence in regions with hot and dry climates, such as the Brazilian semiarid region. The aim of this study was to verify whether moringa seeds present water memory in response to discontinuous hydration and dehydration cycles. The study was conducted at the seed laboratory of the State University of Maranhão in the municipality of Balsas, Maranhão. The experimental design was completely randomized, with a 3 × 3 + 1 factorial arrangement, three soaking times (10, 36 and 52 hours), three hydration cycles (1, 2 and 3) and an additional treatment (control), with four replicates of 25 seeds each. After the seeds were subjected to hydration and dehydration cycles, an emergence test was performed, and the following characteristics were analyzed: emergence, first emergence count, emergence speed index, shoot length, root length, shoot mass and dry mass. The data obtained were subjected to analysis of variance and regression with a 5% probability level, and principal component analysis and response surface analysis were performed. It is assumed that (Moringa oleifera Lam). Exhibits water memory has a hydration time of up to 10 hours with a maximum of up to two hydration cycles, and dehydration positively influenced the improvement in most agronomic variables compared with those of the control.