INTACT FRUIT OF CAPER (CAPPARIS SPINOSA) IS AN IMPROVED SEED PROPAGATION METHOD

This study was designed to determine the possible commercial use of intact fruits in seedling propagation of caper (Capparis spinosa L.), analyzing the effects of fruit weight and the degree of fruit dehiscence in seedling emergence. Ripe fruits of the cultivar Común were collected in September (2005), in two maturation stages (before or after dehiscence) and weighed. The mature dark brown seeds of each fruit were separated, counted and weighed. With these data, the number of seeds per fruit was estimated by linear regression. To analyze germination from intact fruits and depulped seeds (not dried), germination tests were performed in 9-cm pots filled with a mixture of peat moss in a growth chamber. Emergence data were fitted to the logistic function. The number of mature seeds per fruit was positively correlated with the unit fruit weight (r = 0.96; P ≤ 0.01). The average number of seedlings per intact fruit ranged from 68 to 72. The estimated final emergence percentage was also high, being 75% for intact, which did not differ from the 72% obtained from depulped seeds. Final emergence percentages, both from intact fruits and from depulped seeds, were not affected by unit fruit weight nor by fruit maturation stages analyzed in this study (dehiscent or non-dehiscent). In both cases, the final emergence percentage values were higher than those cited as control treatments and as high as those corresponding to treatments for removing hardseededness and for breaking physiological dormancy in caper germination analysis. Time, in days, to reach 50% of final emergence percentage was affected by fruit maturation stage only in intact fruits, with lower values (a difference of about 40 days) for non-dehiscent fruits. Therefore, the use of intact fruits proves to be simple and efficient method for caper seed propagation.