Seed hydropriming and shading levels in the production of physalis seedling

Abstract

Physalis is a relatively new crop in Brazil, but very promising, which has been part of the cultivation areas of vegetable producers. There are few studies related to the species. The objective of this work was to evaluate the quality of physalis seedlings produced with hydroprimed seeds under shading levels. An experiment was implemented in the vegetable garden of the Federal University of Acre. The experiment was carried out in a randomized block design, in a 5 x 2 factorial scheme, with the first factor being shading level: full sun; 20% shade; 35% shade; 50% shade; and 65% shade. The second factor consisted of: unprimed seeds and hydroprimed seeds. The seedlings remained in the environments for 45 days, when phytotechnical variables were then evaluated. The data were subjected to statistical analysis. All variables showed a quadratic trend, with similar responses, where full sun treatment and less shading were favorable. Physalis seedlings produced in lower levels of shading or in full sun, present better development and a higher quality index. Hydropriming physalis seeds accelerates seedling development and provides better results.