Abstract

The objective of the study was to evaluate the influence of methods in breaking dormancy in the seeds of tropical forage legume Crotalaria ochroleuca. The seed treatments were: (T1) water at 100ºC/10 min; (T2) immersed in water for 24 h at ambient temperature, after immersion in water at 100°C/1 min; (T3) acetone (10 min); (T4) ethyl alcohol (10 min); and (T5) intact seeds = control treatment. Data were analyzed using a completely randomized design with two replications, and was adopted for the Tukey test at 5% significance level. Seeds immersed in water for 24 h at ambient temperature before cultivation is enough to ensure germination. The treatments T1, T2 and T5 had the highest speed germination of seeds GSI, which differed (P<0.05) from T3 and T4. The T3 treatment was the only one with difference (P<0.05) in germination which was 15 days after sowing (Germ15). The T1 and T2 treatment had the highest amount of seed germination (P<0.05). The acetone affected the embryo in the tegument negatively.

Key words: Acetone, germination, seed physiology.