Germinação e armazenamento de sementes de unha-de-gato (Uncaria tomentosa (Willd.) D.C.)

Abstract

Despite the considerable increase in knowledge regarding the analysis of seeds of forest species, generated by the research, most of them still lacks basic allowances relating to requirements for the optimum conditions for germination and conservation of physiological quality. This need exists for a species known as cat's claw (Uncaria tomentosa (Willd.) DC), which despite its potential for use as herbal medicine, little or no information on factors affecting seed germination and conservation of physiological quality of seeds are available in a scientific.Given the above in this work, had as objective the study of factors influencing the germination and conservation of the physiological quality of seeds of cat's claw, such as temperature, light, substrate, potassium nitrate and storage conditions. From the results it is concluded that: the seeds of cat's claw are light sensitive as the requirement of light. A constant temperature of 25 º C on the still white light regime and photoperiod of 24 hours or alternating for 12 hours is the most appropriate to achieve the pattern of germination in seeds. Concentrations of 0.1% and 0.2% KNO3 are unable to provide germination of Uncaria tomentosa when germinated in total darkness still, however the presence of light, the use of solutions of KNO3 promotes improve on PG, IVG and T50 in seeds of Uncaria tomentosa . The standard germination test can be performed either in substrate blotting as in boxes containing only water at a rate of 30 mL. The best conditions for preservation of the seeds of cat's claw (Uncaria tomentosa (Willd.) DC), with minor loss of viability and vigor, is the cold environment (10 degrees C and 40% RH), using the packaging bag of aluminum foil or plastic bags of polyethylene. Packaging paper should not be used for the storage of seeds of cat's claw in environments with no control of humidity and temperature. In the cold (10 º C and 40% RH), we can preserve the physiological quality of seeds of cat's claw in paper packaging for up to 4 months.