Abstract

REINO-MOLINA, Jorge Jesús; MONTEJO-VALDES, Laura A; SANCHEZ-RENDON, Jorge Alberto  and  MARTIN MARTIN, Giraldo Jesús. Seed characteristics of five mulberry (Morus alba L.) varieties harvested in Matanzas, Cuba. Pastos y Forrajes [online]. 2017, vol.40, n.4, pp.276-280. ISSN 0864-0394.

The objective of the study was to characterize the morphological and physiological traits of the seeds of five Morus alba L. varieties (cubana, tigreada, universidad, universidad mejorada and yu-62), which were harvested at the Pastures and Forages Research Station Indio Hatuey Matanzas, Cuba. A completely randomized design was used, and the type of embryo, seed size and mass, moisture content, allocation of biomass to the seed reserves (embryo-endosperm) and desiccation tolerance index, were determined. Simple classification variance analysis was performed on the data. The results indicated that the seeds had ovate to round shape; while the embryo was developed, of folded type. The fresh mass varied between 1,30 and 1,46 mg, and most of the seed resources were aimed at reserve formation (between 62,3 and 68,1 %). The moisture content varied between 11,5 and 13,2 %, and the desiccation tolerance index was lower than 0,5; value which is in correspondence with that of orthodox seeds. It is concluded that the information obtained on the biology of the M. alba seed is highly useful for the conservation of the germplasm bank of this species and for its sexual propagation.

Keywords : plant embryos; moisture; seeds.

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