Germination and vigor of Macrotyloma axillare cv Java seeds under different methods for overcoming dormancy

The aim of this study was to evaluate the germination and vigor of seeds Macrotyloma axillare cv Java (archer) under different methods to overcome dormancy. The seeds were submitted to the following treatments to overcome dormancy: (a) control, (b) manual scarification with sandpaper, (c) immersion in sulfuric acid 98% for five minutes, (d) immersion in sodium hypochlorite solution 2% for 15 min. The experimental design was completely randomized with four treatments and four replications with 50 seeds per replication. The sandpaper method was the one that provided the highest percentage of germination (54.5) and speed of germination index (4.56) and did not differ (p = 0.17) from immersion in hypochlorite for 15 min (4.18). The scarification with sandpaper presented higher seedlings length (8.37 cm), while immersion in sulfuric acid and in sodium hypochlorite (5.66 and 5.15 cm) was not statistically different. Therefore, the manual scarification with sandpaper, which promoted the highest percentage of germination, speed of germination index and seedlings length, can be recommended as the best method to overcome dormancy of archer seeds.   Key words: Archer, Fabaceae, seed quality physiology.