Sustainable Techniques for Overcoming Seed Dormancy in Flamboyant (Delonix regia)

Abstract

Aims: The aim of this study is to evaluate methods of overcoming the dormancy of Delonix regia seeds, with an emphasis on sustainable techniques. Study Design: The experimental design was entirely randomized, with five replicates of 20 seeds. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted on the premises of the Instituto Federal do Tocantins, Câmpus Avançado Formoso do Araguaia, located in the municipality of Formoso do Araguaia, in the state of Tocantins, Brazil. Between September 2024 and October 2024. Methodology: The seeds were subjected to the following treatments: T1, untreated seeds (control); T2, chemical scarification with sulfuric acid for 3 minutes; T3, chemical scarification with sulfuric acid for 5 minutes; T4, immersion in water at 80°C for 3 minutes, followed by cooling to room temperature; T5, immersion in water at 80°C for 5 minutes, followed by cooling to room temperature; and T6, immersion in water at 80°C for 10 minutes, followed by cooling to room temperature. The analyses carried out included seedling emergence, the emergence speed index, the average emergence time and the emergence speed coefficient. The experiment followed a completely randomized design with five replicates of 20 seeds each. The data were subjected to tests for normality and homoscedasticity, followed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) using the F-test, and the means were compared using Tukey’s test at a 5% significance level. Results: The results of this study indicated that heat treatments with immersion in water at 80°C for 5 minutes (T5) were the most effective in overcoming the dormancy of Delonix regia seeds. This method resulted in the highest emergence rates and the highest emergence speed indexes (ESI), highlighting its potential as a sustainable and efficient alternative to chemical treatments. Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that heat treatment with immersion in water at 80°C for 5 minutes was the most effective in overcoming the dormancy of Delonix regia seeds.