Biospeckle Laser to monitor the germination of Angico-Vermelho seeds

Abstract

Seed viability is an important parameter in its germination and in the establishment of seedlings, as well as for maintaining a seed bank, mainly for forest seeds, since they are responsible for the maintenance and perpetuation of plant communities and are a basic input for ecosystem recovery and conservation programs. To assess germination, traditional techniques use hundreds of seeds in a destructive manner, obtaining results after many days and can express the analyst’s subjectivity. The use of the Biospeckle Laser to monitor seed germination allows the analysis to be objective, fast, non-invasive, and automated analysis. This work proposed to measure the viability of Angico-Vermelho seeds during the first 72 hours of germination using the Biospeckle Laser with numerical analysis. The results obtained in the first experiment allowed monitoring of biological activity throughout the 72 hours of germination, showing high cell activity in the embryo region already in the first 4 hours of germination. In the second experiment, the results showed greater biological activity in the mature seeds when compared to immature ones during the first 4 hours of germination, also detailing the biological activity in different areas of the Angico-Vermelho seed, reporting a greater biological activity in the embryonic axis region when compared to the endosperm. In conclusion, the Biospeckle Laser technique with numerical AVD analysis can be used to analyze the germination of of A. colubrina already in the first 4 hours of germination, dispensing with traditional methods. This technique allows to study the seed germination in different regions and at different times.