Occurrence of Viviparous Germination in Berries affects the germination Capacity and Vigour of Seedlings in Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standley (Cucurbitaceae)

Abstract

Viviparous germination has been recognized as one of the factors affecting seed viability in orthodox seed species. To better assess the level of dormancy and the influence of the susceptibility of accessions to viviparous germination on the germinative capacity of seeds in Lagenaria siceraria, four hundred (400) apparently healthy seeds from two viviparous and two non-viviparous accessions were sown on 5m x 1m beds. The study showed that seeds from viviparous accessions had a low germination index (0.35 ± 0.04; 0.40 ± 0.03) compared with seeds from non-viviparous accessions (0.68 ± 0.02 and 0.59 ± 0.02). Seeds from viviparous accessions also had a shorter germination time (4.82 ± 0.82; 4.90 ± 0.93 days) than those from non-viviparous accessions (8.52 ± 0.88 days; 8.33 ± 0.81 days). However, the best emergence percentages (86.00 ± 3.18% and 87.00 ± 3.53%) and the most vigourous seedlings (90.44 ± 6.04; 80.03 ± 6.50) were obtained with seeds from non-viviparous accessions. These results suggest that seeds from viviparous accessions are less dormant than those from non-viviparous accessions. Also, seed viviparity affects seedling vigour in L. siceraria.