Heat-treatment and germination of oil palm seeds (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.)

Under natural conditions the germination of oil palm seeds may take years, and it is usually uneven and has a very low rate. To increase the germination rate it is necessary to break the dormancy, through heat-treatment (HT). In the germination of oil palm seeds produced by Embrapa Western Amazon the HT used is at 40 °C during 80 days. The objective of this study was to evaluate the periods of 40, 50, 60 and 80 days of HT at 40 °C on seeds germination of six oil palm cultivars BRS C2001, BRS C2328, BRS C2501, BRS C2528, BRS C3701 and BRS C7201. The statistical design was randomized block, 6 x 4 factorial, with four replications of 500 seeds each. The minimum HT period for maximum germination ranged from 45 days for BRS C2328 (70%) to 80 days for BRS C2528 (84%). For BRS C7201 was not observed significant effect of the HT period for seed germination, estimated as 82%. The maximum germination of oil palm seeds varies with the duration of heat treatment. With the exception of cultivar BRS C2528, heat treatment may be less than 80 days.