Avocado: Is it possible to produce two seedlings with one seed?

Abstract

It was evaluated the possibility to produce two seedlings per avocado seed, through the separation of cotyledons. Two seed lots from two different ungrafted trees were evaluated. From the first tree were obtained 60 seeds, and 50 from the second. Half the seeds of each lot had their cotyledons separated and then whole seeds and half-seeds were sown in river sand. At 90 days after sowing, percentage of germinated seeds, shoot height, main root length, fresh and dry mass of shoots, roots and cotyledons were evaluated. From the first lot of seeds, there was 100% germination, both for the whole seeds and for the half-seeds. For all traits evaluated, higher mean values were observed for seedlings formed from whole seeds. In the second lot of seeds, 88% of germination was observed for whole seeds and 82% of germination for half-seeds. In this second lot, there were no significant differences between the seedlings formed from whole seeds and half-seeds for any of the characteristics evaluated, except for fresh and dry mass of cotyledons. Thus, it is possible to produce two seedlings or rootstocks with a single avocado seed, although this may slightly delay the development of the seedlings.