Resumo

FERNANDEZ-BRAVO, C et al. Germination of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) cv `Río Grande' seeds, sown in plug trays, using different substrates. Rev. Fac. Agron. [online]. 2006, vol.23, n.2, pp.188-196. ISSN 0378-7818.

An experiment was set in order to determine the effect of the use of compost and coconut coir dust mixes as substrates on the germination of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) cv `Rio Grande' seeds sown in plug flats. The experimental design consisted in a split plot divided in time, with six replications. Accumulated germination 8 days after sowing (DDS) was as described for the following treatments: commercial sphagnum peat moss mix (TUR) 97.83%, Compost and coconut coir dust mixes 2:1 v/v (MCA21): 94.75%, 1:1 (MCA11): 87.08% and 1:2 (MCA12): 93.92%, sandy loam soil (CVG): 95.42%, and traditional nurseries (AT): 57.16%. Germination rate for these treatments were: 4.36, 5.25, 6.06, 5.84, 5.30 and 6.75, respectively. MCA21 and CVG reached the highest values for accumulated germination and germination rate, and presented the most uniform germination, similar to TUR. Seedling from seeds germinated on TUR, MCA21 and CVG reached the highest initial growth values 10 DDS, measured as shoot height, stem base diameter, true leaves, and dry weight. Considering better manipulation characteristics of MCA21 over CVG, this mix could be recommended as a peat substitute.

Palavras-chave : germination; tomato; substrate; compost; coconut coir dust.