X-ray test for the evaluation of the internal morphology of the seeds of seafortia palm trees

Abstract

The seafortia palm tree (Archontophoenix cunninghamii) is originally from Australia and is widely used in ornamental gardens in Brazil. Due to the lack of information on the process of obtaining quality seedlings and the market demand for ornamental palms, the objective of this study was to use an x-ray test to evaluate the internal morphology of the seeds of A. cunninghamii. A total of 8 replicates of 25 seeds were submitted to x-ray analysis using the Raicenter RC 300 Plus T equipment; several radiation intensities and times were used. According to the internal morphology observed on the radiographs, the seeds were classified into 4 categories: perfect seeds, seeds with little damage (less than 50% of tissues damaged), seeds with substantial damage (more than 50% of tissues damaged), and embryos not visualized. After the radiography analysis, the seeds were submitted to a germination test for 160 days at a temperature of 30°C using sphagnum as the substrate. Radiographic analysis at an intensity of 37 kVp and x-ray exposure for 0.25 s was sufficient to evaluate to the internal morphology of the seafortia seeds. The results obtained were as follows: 78% perfect seeds, 15% seeds with little damage, 4% seeds with substantial damage, and 3% seeds in which embryos were not observed. Seafortia palm seeds classified as perfect showed a higher percentage of germination, whereas those that had some level of damage tended to show a low physiological quality that was inimical to germination.