Objective

To determine the quality and physical dormancy of seeds from Desmodium incanum DC. (Fabaceae, Desmodieae) in the Entre Ríos province, Argentina.

Materials and Methods

Fruits from plants of two neighboring natural areas, located in the Entre Ríos province, Argentina, were harvested. The collection was carried out between December and February, 2017-2018, on a surface of 20 m2 for each area. From the homogeneous set of seeds, the moisture content, seed weight, germination and viability, were determined. The permeability to water and longevity were modeled. The least squares was used as estimation method, and the higher determination coefficient, R2, was used as criterion for the model selection.

Results

The harvested seeds showed low moisture content (8,2 %) and high quality. The germination essay showed low percentage of normal seedlings (3,5 %) and 95 % of hard seeds. In turn, 89,5 % of the embryos were observed viable. The proposed model proved different depth of physical hardness, and the fraction with high dormancy depth prevailed.

Conclusions

The seeds of the species produced in the region showed high quantity of viable embryos; although most of the seeds showed deep physical dormancy. The hard seeds reached slow breaking of the physical dormancy in time, which originated normal seedlings, even after 22 months of storage.

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