Germination and vigor of seeds of caesalpinia ferrea mart. Ex. tul. var. ferrea submitted at the different light regimes and temperatures

Abstract

Caesalpinia ferrea Mart. ex. Tul. var. ferrea is a tree of the family Fabaceae that is recommended in the ornamentation of parks, squares, central gardens on avenues, roads and parking lots. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the germination and vigor of their seeds exposed to different light conditions and temperatures. The work was performed at the Laboratory of Seed Analysis, at ‘Centro de Ciências Agrárias’, Center of Rural Sciences, at the Federal University of Paraíba state, in the city of Areia, with seeds of Caesalpinia ferrea submitted to the following treatments: white light, green light, red light, far-red and dark light (no light) regimes, at constant temperatures of 25 and 30°C and 20-30°C, alternating. The characteristics evaluated were: germination, first count and rate of germination and length and seedling dry weight. The germination of the seeds of Caesalpinia ferrea is favored by alternating temperature of 20-30°C and is not influenced by the regimes of light and the species is neutral photoblastic.