Influência do tempo de armazenamento na germinação de sementes de mamona

Abstract

Castor bean (*Ricinus communis* L.) exhibits a high capacity to adapt to diverse climatic conditions and low-fertility soils; however, it can behave as a weed in areas of agronomic interest and cause damage to agricultural crops. As the availability of this species for practical educational activities is limited during certain times of the year, seed storage offers an alternative to ensure its use in demonstration plantings at educational institutions. In this context, the present study aimed to evaluate castor bean seed germination before and after a storage period. Four germination tests were conducted using seeds with and without the caruncle, following the recommendations of the Rules for Seed Analysis (RAS), under controlled temperature, humidity, and light conditions. The best results were obtained with seeds that had not undergone storage and retained the caruncle (65.5%). Conversely, storage at 3 °C whether with or without the caruncle resulted in lower germination rates. It is concluded that, under the conditions evaluated, storage at 3 °C was not suitable for maintaining seed quality. Future studies are recommended to test different storage temperatures while retaining the caruncle on the seeds.