The use of bromeliads in Brazilian landscaping has recently increased, resulting in intense, non-sustainable, harvesting of wild bromeliads from native forests with the concomitant risk of extinction for some species. Sexual propagation may be an alternative to extractivism. The native bromeliad Nidularium innocentii occurs frequently in the Atlantic Forest area of the Brazilian state of Parana and has extensive ornamental potential, which has increased the interest of plant growers. Since there have been no previous studies on the quality of N. innocentii seeds we conducted experiments to establish the best storage conditions and germination temperature for this bromeliad. Seeds were stored in polyethylene or paper packages at 4 ºC or 18 ºC for four different storage periods (0, 30, 60 and 90 days), after which germination tests were performed at 20 ºC, 25 ºC and 20 ºC to 30 ºC in transparent plastic boxes (11 cm x 11 cm x 3.5 cm) lined with two absorbent paper sheets moistened with water equivalent to 2.5 times the substrate mass. Four sub-samples of 25 seeds were used for each treatment. It was possible to conclude that germination testing may be conducted at 20 ºC, 25 ºC or 20-30 ºC. N. innocentii seeds can be stored for up to 90 days, with 4 ºC appearing to be the best storage temperature for maintaining seed viability in polyethylene or paper packages.
bromeliad; floriculture; ornamental plants; seed analysis
