Morphophysiological aspects of Selenicereus megalanthus (K. Schum ex Vaupel) Moran

Abstract

Selenicereus megalanthus (K. Schumer Vaupel) Moran is known as yellow Pitaya because of yellow peel color. Originated from Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia, it belongs to the family Cactaceae and has climbing habit, besides being edible and currently grown. In Brazil the production of yellow pitaya is incipient. Pitaya propagates through cuttings, seed or grafting.  Its seeds have sarcotesta mucilaginous, which may be a deterrent factor or decrease germination. This study aimed to study biometric aspects and germination of seeds with and without mucilage removal. The removal of mucilage was made by immersion in 25% sucrose solution and were evaluated biometric aspects of fruit and seed quality through tests of germination and tetrazolium, rate of germination speed and imbibition curve. Through biometrics establishes the relationship between the size of the fruit and seed number, where the number of seeds per unit mass is greater in smaller fruits. The continuous production of mucilage prevented the establishment of imbibition curve. The result obtained in the tetrazolium test was not consistent with the germination. Seeds with mucilage removal by pretreatment with sucrose solution showed better germination and IVG, producing stronger plants.