Germinacion "In Vitro" de Gevuina avellana Mol. (Proteaceae)

Abstract

Gevuina avellana (avellano), a native chilean tree, has fruits of great economi c importanc e and well developed proteoi d roots of considerable scientific value. Its reproductio n with seeds is slow, irregular and little efficient. This pape r describes a metho d of improving germination of the species and thus having large numbe r of seedlings of a similar age and size.
Fruits (nuts) from thre e different localities were used for the study: Lago Chap o in th e provinc e of Llanquihue , Puert o Klocke r in the provinc e of Osorno and Tres Chiflones in Valdivia. All the fruits as well as the seeds withou t pericarp were desinfected, sucessively, in mercuri c chloride and sodium hypochloride ; half an hou r in each. They were then washed and sown on an agar substrat e unde r sterile conditions. The most favourable substrat e concentratio n was 0.7 % since, below this the seeds sink and die due to the lack of oxygen while over this percentage , they lack the humidit y needed for germination.
Microorganisms contaminate d all the norma l fruits sown to germinate . This contaminatio n can be reduced to 25 % if the exocarp is sterilized; contaminatio n is eliminated when the seeds are sterilized. T he seeds presented a high powe r of germinatio n withou t any significant differences amon g their places of origin. Germina ­ tion, 92 % of the seeds, begun 7 days after sowing and ende d on day 32 .