MOISTURE CONTENT OF CINNAMON SEEDS (Cinnamomum zeylanicum J. Presl) AND ITS EFFECT ON THE EMERGENCY OF SEEDINGS IN THE NURSERY (Atena Editora)

Abstract

Cinnamon is an aromatic spice used as a condiment for a wide variety of dishes. In Mexican culinary art, this spice is highly consumed, it is the special touch for sweet and savory dishes. Due to its content of essential oils and carminitive properties, it is used in medicine for different stomach diseases. The objective of this work was to evaluate the content and rate of moisture loss of cinnamon seeds, as well as its effect on the emergence of seedlings in the nursery. The seeds were collected from the trees of the El Palmar-INIFAP Experimental Field. In the laboratory, the seeds were processed and separated into three batches of 500 seeds divided into 5 repetitions of 100 each. Three treatments 50, 20 and 10% humidity were evaluated and the response variable was the percentage of emergence obtained in the nursery. The data were analyzed in a completely randomized design with five repetitions. The results obtained showed significant differences (p ≤ 0.05), seeds with 50% humidity presented 80% emergence, while those with lower humidity only reached around 19%. In all three levels, emergence began at 10 days, but only in two (50 and 20%) did it reach its maximum at 35. Seeds with 50% humidity presented the highest speed of emergence between 15 and 25 days later. of sowing, in contrast to those with lower humidity. The results showed that cinnamon seeds exposed to room temperature and devoid of the pericarp can lose up to 95% of humidity in five days and this is decisive for emergence in the nursery, as well as for their conservation.