INFLUENCE OF SEED SIZE ON THE QUALITY OF TAMARIND SEEDLINGS

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of seed size on tamarind seedling quality. The experiment was installed in nursery covered with 50% shade screen at room temperature, in a randomized block design, with five repetitions, being each one it constituted by four bag with one plant each. The treatments were arranged in classes defined according to 100-seed mass and measures of length and width, as following: small (21.7 g), medium (46.6 g), large and (68.7 g), very large (77.6 g). In the evaluation carried through to the six months it was verified that the size the seed had great influence on seedling quality, which was best with seeds with larger mass. Although the seedlings derived from seeds of different sizes have not shown difference in height, in general, large and very large seeds produced plants with larger collar diameter and larger dry matter weight of roots and aerial parts. Therefore, the selection and classification of seeds is a technique that should be recommended for obtaining vigorous and uniform seedlings of tamarind.