Seedling emergence of <i>Pourouma guianensis</i> Aubl. (Urticaceae) as a function of substrate

Abstract

Given the importance of studies on the germination behavior of native forest species, this study aimed to verify the influence of different substrate on seedling emergence of Pourouma guianensis Aubl. The experiment was conducted in completely randomized design, with three substrates - sand, residue of sieved açaí and Plantmax®, and eight replications of 25 seeds. The following variables were evaluated: emergence, emergence rate index, mean
emergence time, coefficient of uniformity of emergence of seedlings and relative frequency of emergence in relation to time. The best results for the emergence of seedlings of Pourouma guianensis were obtained in the residue of sieved açaí substrate, with a mean time of 80.6 days for 35% of final emergence, followed by sand substrate with a mean time of 85.2 days for 28% of emergence. The emergence of Pourouma guianensis was low, and was very slow and dispersed in time, requiring more detailed studies on the mechanisms of propagation.