Abstract

The objective of study was to verify if desiccation and storage of the seeds affect the morphoanatomy and histochemistry of the seedlings of Campomanesia adamantium. The fruits were processed and seeds were subjected to desiccation to 30, 20, 15, 10 and 5% water contents in laboratory conditions and subsequently subjected to the following storage conditions: In the laboratory (LAB) (25 ± 2°C, 35% RH), cold and dry chamber (CC) (16 ± 2°C, 40% RH), refrigerator (REF) (8 ± 2°C, 35% RH), and freezer (FZ) (-18 ± 1°C, 42% RH) for 0 (newly processed), 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, and 180 days. The evaluation of the seedling survival rate was performed for 42 days, calculated as the survival percentages for seedling shoot and primary root. Anatomical observations and histochemical tests were performed using fixed and non-fixed samples of the median region of xylopodium in normal and abnormal seedlings. In the morphoanatomy of normal seedlings, we observed cotyledons, hypocotyl, xylopodium, and well defined primary root and in abnormal seedlings, cotyledons, hypocotyl and xylopodium (with 20 and 15% water content), and hypocotyl and primary root (with 10% water content). The desiccation and storage of seeds affected the formation of seedlings by preventing the normal development of roots and shoots. The xylopodium of normal and abnormal seedlings showed positive reaction to starch and lipophilic substances. The presence of phenolic compounds and fructans were observed in parenchyma cells of the xylopodium in abnormal seedlings and absent in normal ones. The deleterious effects of desiccation in association with storage induce the production of phenolic compounds and fructans in abnormal C. adamantium seedlings.

Key words: Brazilian Savanna, xylopodium, water content, morphoanatomy, histochemistry.