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 AJPS  Vol.5 No.14 , July 2014
Germination, Vigor of Seeds and Emergence of Fabaceae Seedling in Bovine Faeces
Renata Vianna Lima1*, Henrique Duarte Vieira1, Francielle de Souza Guimarães1, Nardele Moreno Rohem Jr.2, Tatiana Oliveira da Silva1, Alberto Magno Fernandes2, Cynthia Pires Guimarães1, Amanda Justino Acha1, Bruno Borges Deminicis1
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Abstract: This study was conducted to evaluate the physiological quality of forage seeds after passage through the gastrointestinal tract of cattle, as well as the emergence of seedlings derived from these seeds. Three Fabaceae species were used: tropical kudzu, leucaena and calopo. One hundred grams of seeds of each species were offered, separately, to five bovines. After the start of the dispersion, the faeces of the animals were collected every 6 hours, in a total of 72 hours, being taken to the greenhouse immediately after each collection. The study evaluated the total number of seedlings in the stool, the lengths of roots and aerial parts, as well as the natural and dry seedling weight thirty days after the disposal of the faeces in the greenhouse. The experimental design consisted of randomized blocks, with twelve treatments (sampling periods) and five replications (cattle). The best performance for the total number of seedlings in the faeces of cattle was observed in the kudzu species. The length of the root, length of the aerial part and dry matter seedling weight was observed in the leucaena species, followed by kudzu. The calopo showed low results for all variables due to the high degradation of the seeds.
Keywords: Pueraria phaseoloides, Leucaena leucocephala, Calopogonium mucunoides, Dispersal, Physiological Quality
Cite this paper: Lima, R. , Vieira, H. , Guimarães, F. , Rohem Jr., N. , Oliveira da Silva, T. , Fernandes, A. , Guimarães, C. , Acha, A. and Deminicis, B. (2014) Germination, Vigor of Seeds and Emergence of Fabaceae Seedling in Bovine Faeces. American Journal of Plant Sciences, 5, 2170-2177. doi: 10.4236/ajps.2014.514230.
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