Pregerminative treatments and seed mass as a strategy to improve seedling production of Guatemalteca avocado race

Abstract

Avocado crops in Colombia has many technological challenges to be a sustainable production system. Within these areas highlights the need to produce plant material with a specific genetic identity, in short time and excellent quality. The objective of this study was to evaluate different strategies for pregermination and determine the seed optimal mass of Persea americana var. guatemalensis known as race Guatemalteca in order to reduce germination times and enhance the development of seedlings in nursery stage. The variables evaluated were: germination percentage, average germination time, average speed of germination, height, percentage of viable roots, percentage of used seed reserves, biomass and leaf area. Evaluations were performed at the beginning of the experiment and after 60 and 120 days starting treatment. The design was completely randomized, with five replicates and two in time. The apical, basal, and lateral tipping seed with the seed coat removing decreases emergence time’s germination in this species 40 days. For its part the mass seed significantly affected (p<0,05) the uniformity and seedling development, resulting in the optimum mass was between 40 and 50 g. This paper reports the appropriate techniques for producing seedlings of avocado used as patterns under a traditional system.