Tectona grandis L.f. it is an exotic forest essence of economical and social importance to Brazil. The seedlings of that species are produced through diaspores constituted by the fruits with rigid endocarp and mesocarp. The objective of the present work was to analyze the effect of methods of numbness break in the germination of the seeds of this species. To overcome the numbness of the endocarp and mesocarp, the teak fruits were submitted to the immersion in hot water, immersion in sulfuric acid (33,5%) and immersion in running water. The diaspores were distributed in substratum constituted of sand, and the germination test was accomplished in germination camera with temperature of 30 ºC, under white light for eight hours a day. The evaluations were made daily, for 60 days. The method of immersion of the diaspores in sulfuric acid for three minutes was the most efficient treatment, presenting 73% of germinated seeds.
Germination; Numbness break; Forest seeds
