Methods for Breaking Dormancy of Seeds of Tropical Forage Legumes

The aim of this study was to evaluate methods for breaking dormancy of seeds Neonotonia wightii (perennial soybean), Macrotiloma axilare (archer), Pueraria phaseoloides (tropical kudzu), Calopogonium mucunoides (calopo), which were subjected to the following treatments for physical breaks and physiological dormancy: 1) control; 2) scarification with sandpaper; 3) immersion in H2SO4 98% for five minutes and subsequent washing in water; 4) preheating at 60°C for 150 minutes in an air circulating oven; 5) 0.2% KNO3; and 6) gibberellic acid (GA3 0.5%). The results showed that using H2SO4 to break seed dormancy archer and perennial soybean and calopo scarification with sandpaper were the most recommended treatments. Tropical Kudzu presented physiological response to treatments with the use of gibberellic acid and physical treatment using immersion H2SO4. Thus, it is necessary to use techniques to make the breaking dormancy of seeds of legumes, resulting in an increase in the rate of seed germination and rapid deployment of the legume.