TITLE:
Seed Germination and Production of Erythrina mulungu and Erythrina velutina Plantlets
AUTHORS:
Ana Maria Soares Pereira, Verena Trevizani Alves Souza, Juliana da Silva Coppede, Suzelei de Castro França, Bianca Waléria Bertoni, Ana Valéria Vieira de Souza
KEYWORDS:
Medicinal Plants; Herbal Medicines; Cerrado; Caatinga; Rhizobium
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.5 No.5,
March
7,
2014
ABSTRACT:
Species of the genus Erythrina are frequently used as ornamental plants and in projects to restore degraded
areas. Also, extracts from its shoots and stems are popularly used as a herbal
medicine with validated activity on the central nervous system. The objective
of this study was to evaluate E. mulungu and E. velutina seed germination and
seedling development potential aiming commercial scale production of those
species. Seeds stored for one or twelve months at 10°C ± 2°C were sown in sand, soil or Plantmax? substrates and evaluated for
germination and seedling development. Subsequently, seedlings sprouted in
Plantmax? were transferred to polyethylene bags and kept in greenhouse, under
direct sunlight for plant development (plant height, stem diameter and root
length pivoting) evaluations. Four-month-old plantlets were transplanted to the
field and after a period of one year the collar diameter and shoot height (of
each plant were measured. Seed germination rates of both species grown in soil
and in Plantmax? were significantly high (over 80%). Storing seeds for
1 month did not inhibit germination. However, seeds stored for twelve months had germination reduced by more than a
quarter. The development of plants in greenhouse and in the field was
satisfactory, indicating the viability of producing E. mulungu and E. velutina on a commercial scale, in order to meet the expanding market demand for herbal
medicines.