Physical and physiological quality of the Lippia rotundifolia seeds according to the osmotic conditioning and electrical conductivity

Abstract

Lippia rotundifolia is a native species of the Cerrado, endemic to the chain backbone and highly aromatic, whose essential oil has medicinal properties of high pharmacological value, but because it is a non-domesticated species, little is known about its spread. Due to its importance, the objective was to evaluate the effect of the osmotic conditioning on the physical and physiological quality of seeds. The experimental design was completely randomized with four replications of 100 seeds, being treatments consisted of two kinds of seeds (with and without tegument) subjected to ten days of immersion in water (0, 2, 4, 6, 12, 24, 48, 72, 96 and 120 hours). After each period, the seeds were submitted to the electrical conductivity test and germination. Electrical conductivity and germination there is a directly proportional relationship, while the best osmotic conditioning time is achieved with the seed husk and immersed in water for 48 hours.