Physical, physiological and anatomical changes in Erythrina speciosa Andrews seeds from different seasons related to the dormancy degree

Abstract: Dormancy, a process that allows seeds to survive in adverse environments, needs to be broken for germination to start, for example, by the disruption of the impermeable layer of seeds. Mature seeds of Erythrina speciosa present seed coat impermeability, whose degree depends on the year of production. The objective of this study was to analyze the physical, physiological, anatomical, and ultrastructural seed coat modifications, according to the environmental conditions in which seeds were produced, as well as the seed sensitivity to treatments as for breaking dormancy. E. speciosa seeds were collected for six years in a row and were analyzed as for dormancy degree. Moreover, chemical scarifications by different immersion times were applied on seeds from two production years, as well as mechanical scarification, which was an efficient methodology to overcome dormancy. Different immersion times by acid scarification were necessary to break dormancy in each harvest year. It was possible to conclude that the climatic conditions under which the mother plant is submitted can influence the dormancy degree of E. speciosa seeds, but the expected anatomical changes between dormant and non-dormant seeds were not found in seeds from this species.