@article{Esptia-Camacho_Villalba-Soto_Aramédiz-Tatis_Cardona-Ayala_2021, title={Morphometry, viability and germination of seeds of Benincasa hispida [(Thunb.) Cogn.]}, volume={15}, url={https://revistas.uptc.edu.co/index.php/ciencias_horticolas/article/view/11724}, DOI={10.17584/rcch.2021v15i1.11724}, abstractNote={<p>The objective of the study was to evaluate the morphometry, viability and germination of <em>B. hispida</em> seeds, at the Universidad de Córdoba, Colombia. Eight biometric characteristics were measured in a sample of seeds taken at random from a balanced compound originating from 50 fruits. The external and internal morphological description was made on a sample of 10 seeds. Seed viability was estimated by the tetrazolium test, using the combination of two staining times (2 and 3 hours) and three concentrations of (0.5, 1.0 and 1.5%), under a design completely randomized, with six treatments and four repetitions of 50 seeds. The germination test (PRUGER) was performed in a mesh house with four repetitions of 50 seeds to estimate eight physiological parameters of germination. The morpho-metric characteristics of thickness, length and width of seeds showed reduced phenotypic variation, compared with the weight, density and volume of a seed, with variation coefficients greater than 11.7%. The seed, ovoid and flattened, presents an embryo with its cotyledons wrapped in a protective membrane. The viability, determined with tetrazolium, was 89.5-96.5%, while the PRUGER was 100%, with no statistical differences between them (<em>P</em>≥0.05). The combination of 0.5% tetrazolium with 2 hours is sufficient to determine the viability of the seed. Germination elapsed from 6 to 19 days after sowing, with a germination speed index of 0.22, average daily germination of 5.26%, peak value of 5.33 and germination value of 28.</p>}, number={1}, journal={Revista Colombiana de Ciencias Hortícolas}, author={Esptia-Camacho, Miguel and Villalba-Soto, Alisson and Aramédiz-Tatis, Hermes and Cardona-Ayala, Carlos}, year={2021}, month={Jan.}, pages={e11724} }