[NAFEX] Moldy seed germination
Stephen Sadler
Docshiva at Docshiva.org
Tue May 31 14:23:01 EDT 2005
Many of those types of seeds need something to happen to the seedcoat before
they're able to germinate - the 'damage' to the seedcoat probably simply
allows water inside. It's common practice to sand some seedcoats, or even
cut a small slit in larger seeds, such as Wisteria. One needs to be very
careful not to damage the seed within the coat. In nature, microbes/fungi
do this work.
Apple seeds do have germination inhibitors - but they're to reduce
competition, not keep the seed itself from sprouting. Malus seeds are
deeply dormant, and require stratification for both germination and
embryonic development.
BTW, lazy gardener that I am, I sometimes have the best germination rates by
simply planting the seed/seeds in a suitable outdoor location and let the
local temperatures, pH, microbes, and other microecologic factors do their
thing. Some seeds take over a year, but they would have taken months in the
fridge/greenhouse/cold frame/seed tray or wherever, and I get much more
vigor with bed plantings.
Stephen Sadler, Ph.D.
USDA 9, AHS heat zone 8,
Sacramento CA - Mediterranean climate
-----Original Message-----
From: nafex-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:nafex-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of bluestem_farm at juno.com
Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2005 4:22 AM
To: nafex at lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: [NAFEX] Moldy seed germination
Tanis,
When I'm trying to get seed to grow with a really hard seed coat, it often
ends up moldy. I convinced myself a while ago that that's how it should be.
The Baptisia hard seeds only seem to germinate after molding.
Muffy
-- "tanis cuff" <tanistanis at hotmail.com> wrote:
I have to wonder if
the mold/rot broke down any germination inhibitors? That seems to be the
one thing which worked FOR me.
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