Responses of sour passion fruit (Passiflora edulis Sims) seeds from the third recurrent selection cycle during storage

Conflicting responses have been found for the period of conservation of passion fruit seeds. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the response of the seeds of passion fruit progenies to a 24-month storage period. The sour passion fruit progenies from the third cycle of Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro - UENF intrapopulation recurrent selection program were grown in Itaocara- RJ and the progenies seeds were evaluated for: germination potential, germination first count, accelerated aging, first count of accelerated aging test, seedling and radicle size and germination speed index. The germination and vigor of the seeds of the full-sib progenies were assessed by analysis of variance and factorial arrangement with 3 progenies and 7 periods of storage and the averages were compared by Tukey test at 5% probability. Progenies 1 and 2 responded better to germination (92% for both progeny) and vigor test of accelerated aging (92% for both progeny), rootlet size (6.4 and 5.8 cm, respectively) and germination speed index (2.91 and 2.85, respectively) during storage. Variations were observed during the storage period in mean of progenies for germination (81-93%) and vigor for all traits, except accelerated aging (84-91%). At eight months of storage, the seeds presented increased vigor; at 16 months, they showed reduced vigor. The passion fruit seeds of the progenies under analysis can be stored for up to 24 months with high and uniform germination rate and no loss in vigor. The seeds from the passion fruit breeding program showed increases in the variables of germination and vigor during the selection process for fruit production variables, proving the efficiency of the breeding program.