ABSTRACT
Water stress is a condition that causes physiological changes in different species and even genotypes of the same species. One of the osmotic agents most used to simulate this condition is polyethylene glycol 6000. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of water stress on the physiological quality of seeds and performance of seedlings of crambe genotypes. A completely randomized design was used, in a factorial scheme with two genotypes (one cultivar and one line) and five osmotic potentials simulated with aqueous solutions of polyethylene glycol 6000 (control = 0, -0.25, -0.50, -1.0, -1.50 MPa), with four replicates of 50 seeds per treatment. The effects of the treatments were evaluated by means of germination, first count, germination speed index and fresh and dry matter of seedlings. The physiological quality of seeds and the performance of crambe seedlings are negatively affected under water stress from -0.25 MPa on. Seeds of the genotype FMSCR 1101 have greater tolerance to drought stress, regardless of the osmotic potential used.
Key words:
Crambe abyssinica Hoechst; germination; polyethylene glycol