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Salvia hispanica seedlings have stood out for their potentialities in nutrients for agri-food industries. Nevertheless, studies related to this species are still scarce, especially with respect to agronomic factors that enable its propagation and development. Hence, this study aimed to evaluate germination, vigor and osmotic adjustment of S. hispanica seeds and seedlings subjected to water and thermal stress. The experimental design was completely randomized, with treatments arranged in factorial scheme, corresponding to five levels of polyethylene glycol (PEG 6000) (0.0; -0.1; -0.2; -0.3 and -0.4 MPa) and five temperatures (20, 25, 30 and 20-30 °C), with four replicates of 50 seeds in each treatment. Germination test was set on blotter paper, moistened with PEG 6000 solutions at the previously mentioned potentials, under 8-h photoperiod. The following variables were analyzed: germination, germination speed index, seedling shoot length, seedling root length, seedling dry matter and contents of chlorophyll, carotenoids, amino acids, proline and sugars. Polyethylene glycol levels of -0.4 MPa at all temperatures and -0.3 MPa at 30 °C and 20-30 °C enable germination and vigor of S. hispanica seedlings. S. hispanica seedlings are able to perform osmotic adjustment under water stress conditions up to the level of -0.3 MPa, when grown from seeds germinated at temperatures of up to 25 ºC.

The quantitative and qualitative scarcity of water resources is a frequent problem in the semi-arid region of the Brazilian Northeast. The availability of water for irrigation with high salts contents is common, affecting the growth and development of the crops. Thus, it is necessary to adopt strategies that allow the establishment of irrigated cultivation in this region. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of water salinity and phosphorus/nitrogen combinations on the ecophysiology of the West Indian cherry grafted in the first year of cultivation. The research was carried out in a protected environment, in lysimeters filled with a Regolithic Neosol of loamy clay texture, having low initial phosphorus content. The experiment was arranged in a randomized block design, arranged in a 5x4 factorial scheme, with five levels of electrical conductivity of the irrigation water - CEa (0.6, 1.4, 2.2, 3.0 and 3.8 dS m -1) and four manures of fertilization with phosphorus and nitrogen (100: 100, 140: 100, 100: 140 and 140: 140% of the recommendation of P/N), with three replications, each plot consisting of one plant. Increased salinity of irrigation water reduced growth, photosynthesis and the production of West Indian cherry. Fertilization with 140% of the phosphorus and nitrogen recommendation minimizes the deleterious effect of salinity on West Indian cherry irrigated with water up to 3.0 dS m-1.

Seed companies increasingly need to obtain reliable results on seed vigor. Therefore, the objective was to verify the efficiency of the respiratory activity measurement, by the CO2 released, to classify the vigor of okra seed lots. For this, five seed lots of okra cv. "Santa Cruz 47" were used. In order to determine seed physiological quality, the following tests were performed: germination, seedling emergence, emergence speed index, shoot length, total dry matter, potassium leaching, electrical conductivity and respiratory activity. Mean values of germination and vigor were compared by Tukey's test. Respiratory activity was correlated with germination and other vigor tests by the Pearson's correlation. The results indicate that CO2 measurement is a promising method to identify vigor differences between okra seed lots.

The papaya crop has great socio-economic expression in the Brazil and is mainly grown in the northeastern region, which is facing serious problems of water shortage, particularly in its qualitative aspect, due to high concentration of salts in water. For best performance of a crop it is necessary to adopt managements strategies, such as the use of tolerant cultivars, thus, aimed to assess the balance of salts in the substrate, growth and partition of biomass of varieties of papaya irrigated with saline water. The experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with treatments arranged in a 2 x 4 factorial arrangement , consisting of two cultivars of papaya (Sunrise Solo and Tainung - 01) and four levels of water salinity (1.2, 2.4, 3.6 and 4.8 dS m -1) with three replications. The balance of salts in the substrate, growth rate and the dry matter partitioning were evaluated to determine crops' tolerance to salinity in the initial growth phase. The water salinity increased linearly electrical conductivity, sodium absorption ratio and exchangeable sodium percentage of the substrate, and reduced growth and the biomass of varieties of papaya, in which reductions in biomass accumulation followed the order leaves > roots > stem. Salinity reduced the percentage of dry weight of stem and leaves and increased the dry weight of roots.

Essa pesquisa teve como objetivos avaliar a biometria dos frutos e sementes de Calotropis procera, bem como estabelecer as condições de luz, temperatura e substrato adequados à germinação de sementes dessa espécie. A biometria dos frutos foi determinada numa amostra de 100 unidades, coletados ao acaso, no município de Mossoró-RN, constituindo-se nas determinações de comprimento, largura, espessura e peso de frutos e sementes. Dessas sementes, numa amostra de 100 unidades retiradas aleatoriamente, determinaram-se comprimento, número de sementes por fruto, teor de água e peso de mil sementes. Foram avaliadas as seguintes variáveis: germinação e tempo médio de germinação. Para análise empregou-se o delineamento experimental inteiramente casualizado em arranjo fatorial 6x3x2 sendo seis temperaturas (20, 25, 30, 35, 20-30 e 25-30 ºC), três substratos (areia, papel toalha e mata-borrão) e duas condições de luminosidades (presença e ausência de luz), com seis repetições de 50 sementes. Os dados biométricos foram analisados através da estatística descritiva e para os caracteres germinação e tempo médio de germinação utilizou-se análise de variância e teste de Tukey através do SISVAR 4.5. Concluiu-se que há variabilidade para os caracteres relacionados às dimensões e pesos de frutos de flor-de-seda; o número de sementes por fruto é elevado, favorecendo a disseminação da espécie. Recomenda-se que as contagens inicial e final do teste de germinação sejam realizadas aos 5 e 10 dias após a semeadura, respectivamente. A temperatura constante de 30 ºC, alternada de 25-30 ºC e os substratos areia e papel toalha são condições adequadas para a germinação e as sementes são indiferentes à luminosidade.