Acacia caven (Mol.) Mol. is a native species from southwest Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, and there is no effective methodology for analyzing its seeds. The objective of this study was to evaluate treatments for overcoming dormancy and temperatures for carrying out germination tests for A. cavens seed. Five treatments were used to overcome dormancy: control (T1); immersion of seeds in water at 40 ºC for 24 h (T2); immersion of seeds in 0.5% sodium hypochlorite for 24 h (T3); mechanical scarification with water sandpaper nº. 80 (T4) and incision in the region opposite to the micropyle (T5). The germination tests were carried out at constant temperatures of 20 ºC, 25 ºC and 30 ºC, under artificial light, on a paper substrate. The experimental design was completely randomized with four replications of 50 seeds. The data as percentages were transformed into arcsine <img border=0 src="../../../../../img/revistas/rbs/v32n2/a06car01.gif" align=absmiddle>and the means compared by Tukey's test at the 5% probability level. The most efficient treatments for overcoming dormancy were the T4 and the T5. The highest germination was obtained under a constant temperature of 30 ºC. The germination test can be finalized after seven days and first count on the fifth day.
Forest species; temperature; light; seedlings; germination
