RESPUESTA FISIOLÓGICA DE LA SEMILLA CHILE PIQUÍN (Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum (Dunal) Heiser & Pickersgill) AL ÁCIDO GIBERÉLICO E HIDROTERMIA* PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSE OF CHILI PIQUIN PEPPER (Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum (Dunal) Heiser & Pickersgill) SEEDS TO GIBBERLIC ACID AND HOT WATER

The piquin chili pepper is a wild harvest fruit, highly popular for its use as a condiment and subject to strong anthropogenic pressure. Also, it shows little incorporation of plants to its population due to the slow and irregular germination of its seeds, and sustainable use is at risk. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of gibberellic acid and hydrothermia on the germination and vigor of the piquin chili pepper seed, from Queretaro, Mexico. Two commercial gibberellic acid products were used, and the hydrothermic treatment involved introducing the seed in water at 45, 50, 55 and 60 oC, for 3, 6 and 9 min. Standard gerination and vigor of the seed were established in the lab, and emergence, in a greenhouse. The application of Cyto-Gibb favored germination and vigor of the seed from both collection sites. The effect of the heat from the water in the Higuerillas seed for 6 and 9 min produced the best seed vigor expressed in emerged plantlets. The gibberellic acid stimulates the germination and vigor of plantlets, whereas hypothermia increases the vigor of the seed when evaluating the piquin chili plantlets in the greenhouse.