Emergency and initial growth of seedlings of Luffa (Luffa cylindrica Roemer).

Abstract

Cylindrica Luffa Roemer is a climber specie of the Cucurbitaceae family, originally from the Asia and Africa tropical. It is has been used in popular medicine as purgative and abortive. The use of phytotherapeutic products has proven to be very attractive for the marketing. Nonetheless, exploitation of plant species in such extractive way, may lead to endangerment of the species. This work aimed at studying the effects of pre-soaking, as well as various substrates, on the seedling production of L. cylindrica. For that, a factorial scheme (2 x 5), in a completely randomized design, with four replications of twelve seeds each was applied. Seeds were studied with or without soaking and under the following substrates: sand, soil, hummus, soil plus hummus, and soil plus hummus plus sand. The assay was carried out in the Seed Laboratory/CCA/Federal University-Ceara State, from March to April 2005. Seeds were sown in the substrates specified above, in trays composed of 72 cells. Upon sowing, seeds were taken to the greenhouse for a period of 25 days, remaining there since germination to the final evaluation. Percentage of seedling, seedling speed of emergency index, average seedling time of emergency, plant height, leaf number, dry weight of the plant aerial and underground parts were studied. Significant interaction was observed only for root length. Substrates and soaking showed to be significant for all the variables, excepting the percentage of emergency in pre-soaked seeds. It may be concluded first that pre-soaking favors seedling emergency, and second that seeds emerge faster when the substrate is sand. Plants grown in hummus, however, were more vigorous, as compared to the remaining substrates.