Comparison between the different methods for evaluating the physiological quality of seeds of Maytenus ilicifolia Mart. ex Reiss. - Celastraceae

With a view to verifying the suitability of the tests usually performed for evaluation of the physiological quality on seeds of "Espinheira Santa", tw o investigations were carried out: INVESTIGATION A: the viability of the te trazolium test (0.25%), at 30 degrees C; germination on paper, in rolled pa per towel, and in sand, at 25 degrees C, in a completely randomized experim ental design, with ten 25-seed/replications. The results obtained in the fo ur methods (Table 1) did not present statistically significant differences, indicating that all the methods tested are suited to the purpose. In INVES TIGATION B, three evaluation methods were tested: germination on paper and in sand, and the tetrazolium test 0.1%, all of them at 25 degrees C. This i nvestigation measured the influence on the physiological quality of the see ds of Maytenus ilicifolia, with five permanence periods (0, 24, 72, 120 and 168 hours), under stress conditions in accelerated aging chambers (40 degr ees C and 100% RH of the air), and in a factorial arrangement with six 40-s eed replications. The results obtained in INVESTIGATION B (Table 2) indicat e that there is a variation among the evaluation methods when seeds are sub jected to stress conditions, fact which deserves further investigation.