Morphobiometry of fruits, seeds and seedlings of Khaya grandifoliola

Abstract

The objective of this work was to carry out the morphobiometric characterization of fruits, seeds and seedlings of Khaya grandifoliola. The fruits were characterized by evaluating length, diameter and thickness of the pericarp, and the seeds by length, width, thickness, weight of 1,000 seeds and moisture content. Germination and seedling morphology were also analyzed. The data were submitted to descriptive statistical analysis and the seeds  grouped into classes, through a frequency distribution, according to their length. The fruits of K. grandifoliola are capsule-type with longitudinal dehiscence, polyspermic, with approximately 48 seeds of intermediate predominance and flattened shape, with a slight extension in the tegument and slightly winged. The seeds vary in  length from 19.84 to 38.31 mm, width from 18.10 to 20.77 mm and thickness from 2.25 to 2.82 mm, weight of 1,000 seeds was 274.12 g and moisture content was 6.8%. Primary root protrusion is visible from the fifth day after sowing, and germination is of the cryptocotyledon hypogeal type, with seedling formation at 14 days, with reddish-green primary leaves. The results obtained are important to support methodologies definition and future additions to the RAS on the K. grandifoliola species.