In Mexico, Annona purpurea Moc. &Sessé ex Dunal, chincuya is found in mountains and family gardens. It is used as food (fruits), traditional medicine (leaves, stems, roots, seeds, bark), wood in construction, papermaking, carpentry, rope making, and as fuel. There is not enough information on the seed, nor on germination management, which is scarce, prolonged and erratic. Considering that the morphophysiological dormancy is the probable cause, it was necessary, within a broader project, to start with the characterization of the seed and determine the effect of dry warm storage (DWS) on it. The perimeter and length of the embryos increased due to the increase in length of the cotyledons and the hypocotil root axis, while the middle hypocotyl area decreased, forming an acinturated embryo. These data indicate that the embryos of chincuya are underdeveloped since they grew and modified their shape, due to the effect of DWS, until the 6th month. This development of the embryo within the seed during dry warm storage confirms the presence of morphological dormancy. This is the first report of embryo growth and characterization of chincuya seeds.

Objetivo: Analizar los conocimientos relacionados con la caracterización morfológica de frutos, componentes bioquímicos y bioactividad de Annona purpurea Moc. & Sessé ex Dunal; así como identificar los componentes morfológicos y bromatológicos, que describen sus frutos y semillas.Diseño/metodología/aproximación: se analizó con el fin de actualizar el registro de datos morfológicos de frutos recién colectados A. purpurea y mediante la metodología de análisis bromatológico (AOAC, 2006), se obtuvieron datos relacionados con la bioquímica de pulpa, cáscara y semillas. Resultados: Se señalan las principales características morfológicas del fruto en términos de tamaño, peso, número y peso de semillas. Se encontró que la pulpa es fuente importante de azúcares, fibra, proteína y que el contenido de aceite en semillas es alto. Se registraron los principales metabolitos secundarios reportados, así como una aproximación a su actividad biológica.Limitaciones del estudio/implicaciones: Al ser un frutal semidomesticado y de consumo local, el conocimiento del mismo también está localizado en las zonas de ubicación; y la informaciónpublicada es limitada.Hallazgos/conclusiones. Se evidencia el valor nutritivo de los frutos y la importancia medicinal de hojas, tallos, semillas, corteza y frutos. Así también, se resalta la potencialidad que tiene como fuente demetabolitos secundarios entre los que destacan acetogeninas, alcaloides y aceites esenciales con diferentes efectos, tales como la actividad antitumoral, antibacterial, antifúngico, antioxidante, antiparasitario, cardiotónico, ansiolítico e insecticida. Éste último, abre la posibilidad de que se amplíe la oferta de los actuales biopesticidas, insumo imprescindible en la práctica de una agricultura sustentable

This study aimed to determine the dynamics of dormancy using triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC) and asymbiotic germination in Laelia speciosa (Kunth) Schltr. seeds stored for three years and one year at different temperatures. This is the first report of a circannual rhythm in L. speciosa seeds under controlled storage conditions. Two experiments were carried out: (a) with seeds from wild populations of L. speciosa collected at two different times and dehydrated to 4% relative humidity (RH) and stored for three years at 25 °C, 6 °C, −20 °C, and −80 °C, and (b) with seeds from six fruits stored in liquid nitrogen (LN2; −196 °C) at 25 °C for 12 months. The germination conditions were 25 ± 1 °C with 16 h of light (23 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹) and 8 h of darkness for both trials. Because they have a rudimentary embryo, orchids are attributed a morphological latency; however, the staining of the embryo with TTC (>92%) in all the evaluations carried out throughout a year and the decrease in asymbiotic germination in the intermediate evaluations record a circannual biological cycle or clock, under temperature and humidity control (4% RH).

Germination is influenced by several factors, among them pH. Two experiments were conducted to determine the effect of imbibition-water pH on the water absorption curve of chincuya seeds and germination. The results were contrasted to the known effect of gibberellic acid imbibition. In the first year of fruit collection and evaluation, imbibition curves were constructed per treatment. The seeds of this evaluation were divided into two lots: the first at the initial moisture content (39.9 %) and the second at the moisture content of 34.1 % after three days of drying in the laboratory. The seeds were imbibed for 84 h in distilled water at three pH levels (5, 7, and 9) and kept in a water bath at 30 °C. In the second year of collection and evaluation, the pH treatments were repeated, and an imbibition treatment with gibberellic acid at 350 mg L^-1 (pH 3.9) was added. A control treatment contained distilled water at pH 6.1. For both years, treated seeds were incubated on paper towels and placed under controlled conditions at a 12-hour photoperiod and alternating day and night temperatures (30 °C:25 °C). The three imbibition curves showed similar behavior and no statistical significance. Seeds with a higher moisture content did not gain weight after imbibition. The imbibition curves increased constantly in the seeds at 34.1 % moisture, and weight gain reached almost 46 % with the pH 9 treatment. However, there were no statistical differences among treatments. The highest rate of water absorption occurred in the first six hours in the open-air, dehydrated seeds, and after 72 hours, the weight of the seeds did not increase. Average daily germination kinetics indicated a slow and poor germination process. Gibberellic acid significantly promoted germination, causing 43 % germination. The absolute control reached 5.7 %, while the rest of the treatments did not promote germination.

Annonaceae is a family of approximately 2,430 species of angiosperms, about 70 of which contribute to the diversity of Mexico's tropical forests. Some species produce pleasant fruits, others generate essences used in perfumery or food flavoring, and others biosynthesize secondary metabolites of pharmaceutical and agronomic interest. However, information on seed germination in these species is still scarce. Several species produce dormant seeds as a protective mechanism for the perpetuation of the species. This review highlights the state-of-the-art, with emphasis on seed formation and the dormancy and germination mechanisms of Annonaceae species from Mexico. Systematic research was conducted in Scielo, Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, and Embase databases. The PRISMA strategy was used with keywords related to seed formation, germination and dormancy of Annonaceae species from Mexico combined by Boolean operators. The search yielded 1,185 articles, of which 59 provided relevant information and were included in this review, which identified studies involving seeds of 15 species. The most investigated species are from the genus Annona. The research includes the mechanisms involved in seed formation, germination process, and the establishment and overcoming of dormancy. Factors such as hormonal balance, temperature, and light are considered. The main prospects for further studies lie in expanding the number of species to be studied, from seed formation, establishment and classification of dormancy to methods for overcoming dormancy, as well as the ecophysiology of germination, in order to assist in agronomics projects involving seedling production and ensuring the conservation and biodiversity of Mexican Annonaceae.

By virtue of the knowledge of the beneficial effect of the warm and dry storage, for the growth of the chincuya seed embryo, defined as morphological dormancy. The effect of the same type of storage was studied for the seed viability and germination by soaking gibberellic acid. Also, fatty acids and their kinetics were identified during the warm and dry storage. The following treatments were evaluated: storage time (0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months), seed soaking in gibberellic acid at 350 mg L-1, and for the control, imbibition in distilled water, both for 72 h. The seed viability was evaluated through the stain test with tetrazolium chloride. The embedded seeds were germinated on absorbent paper towels and incubated at different temperatures of 30 ° C during the day and 25 ° C at night and 12 hours of photoperiod. The lipid profile was developed by gas chromatography. Seeds were held at constant temperature of 25 ± 3 ° C, in darkness, during the storage time. Results demon-strated that the high initial viability was maintained until the ninth month, when it decreases and is statisti-cally different from the other treatments. The smaller germination percentage (26.1 %) was observed in the freshly harvested seeds and, the higher one corresponded to the six months (65.6 %), with these differences being statistically significant. Regarding the identified fatty acids and their average content, it was found that 33.41 % corresponded to palmitic acid, 7.72 % to stearic acid; the arachidic acid with 1.30 %, making a total of saturated fatty acids of 42.44 %. The detected unsaturated fatty acids were: palmitoleic acid 1.52 %, oleic acid 43.37 % and linoleic acid 7.24 %, in total, 52.15 %. No significative changes were observed in the fatty acids content that are the largest part of the total seed reserves; although the higher concentrations matched with the longest germination (three months), with an average of 92.84 % total fatty acids. Specified regressions indi-cated with statistical robustness that palmitoleic and palmitic acids increased while the oleic acid decreased during the dry storage. The arachidic acid showed a slightly downward trend. Also, the concentrations of fat-ty acids were significatively different between unstored and unincubated seeds (intact) and unstored and in-cubated, but without germinating seeds (dormant), in the latter, the total fatty acids content was significantly lower. Given that the application of gibberellic acid and warm dry storage favored germination, as well as the change in fatty acid content during warm dry storage, added to the results already reported on morphological changes and embryonic growth as an effect of the same type of storage, it is established that Annona purpurea seeds present morphophysiological dormancy, also this is the first identification report of arachidic and pal-mitoleic acids in chincuya seeds and the higher germination percentage reported (65.6 %).