Pregerminative hydration-dehydration treatments of seeds and their effects in plants of agricultural interest

摘要

Pregerminative hydration-dehydration treatments of seeds have proven to be efficient for reinvigoration of aged seeds, enhance germination performance and increase yields of crops under optimun and adverse ecological conditions; such effects known asseed reinvigoration, priming and hardening. In this paper, aspects related to the methods and imbibition solutions applied to the referred pregerminative treatments, physiologic and biochemical changes that take place in the seeds, and practical utilityof the treatments in species of agricultural interest are discussed. Also, information is offered on the effects produced by the combination of hardening, partial hydration, and heat shock treatments in vegetables and forest tree seeds under environmental stress.