Germinação de sementes de algodoeiro (Gossypium hirsutum) sujeitas a diferentes tempos de deslintamento

Abstract

The cotton production is characterized by a crop with slow initial development, the seed processing stage is crucial for the seed to develop better and reach its productive potential. In practice, the processing in which the fibers are separated from the seeds is not fully effective and, therefore, a layer still adhered to the seed at the end of the process, called liner, can be observed. This can reduce the seed's ability to absorb water, which can delay germination. Therefore, the objective of the present work is to analyze the germination, the amount of dead seeds, dormant and weak seedlings under different durations of sulfuric acid disintegration. The work was carried out at the Seed Laboratory (LASEM) of the Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU). Cotton seeds of the genotype UFU JP-B2, supplied by the UFU Cotton Genetic Improvement Program (PROMALG) were used and were subjected to sulfuric acid depletion for zero, one, two, four, six and eight minutes. The default duration used by the Program is two minutes. For each disintegration duration, five repetitions were performed with 50 seeds. At the end of the evaluations, those extinguished with sulfuric acid for one minute presented better results among the others.