According to the literature, the removal of
sarcotesta, with or without desiccation,
reduces the level of dormancy in papaya
seeds. The combined treatments (removal of
sarcotesta and seed desiccation) promoted
germination of seed lot 1, but did not of lot 2,
in water. Thus the seed lots responded differently
to desiccation. The effectiveness of
GA3 in breaking dormancy and accelerating
germination indicates that a chemical inhibitor
may have been present (Chow and Lin,
1991; Reye et al., 1980) and that GA3 was
effective, regardless of seed moisture content.
Seeds of both lots tolerated desiccation
without injury