North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Lon J. Rombough" <lonrom@hevanet.com>]

I've germinated Rubus seed that was over 25 years old, though the germination rate was pretty low.  It had been stored dry at room temperature for most of that time, then stored in a freezer in sealed pouches before I germinated it.
-Lon Rombough
Grapes, writing, consulting, my book, The Grape Grower, at http://www.bunchgrapes.com  Winner of the Garden Writers Association "Best Talent in Writing" award for 2003. 
For even more grape lessons, go to  http://www.grapeschool.com
For growing supplies and more;  http://www.grapegrowersolutions.com

On Jun 21, 2007, at 6:44 PM, Michael Dossett wrote:

Depends on how it is stored.  At room temperature,
viability drops quite a bit after a couple of years,
especially if not stored with a dessicant.  If they
are properly dried and then frozen, however, they can
be stored for many many years.  I would imagine this
is especially the case for the temperate species and
less so for the tropical ones.

Michael Dossett

--- Michael Nave <jmichaelnave@yahoo.com> wrote:

> How long is Rubus seed viable?
>
>
> --- Michael Dossett <phainopepla@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > Hi everyone,
> >
> > Some of you may recall a message I posted last
> year
> > around this time asking for help collecting fruit
> > from
> > wild black raspberries (Rubus occidentalis) in the
> > eastern US and Canada.  Many of you responded and
> > sent
> > us fruit from which I extracted the seeds and am
> > growing seedlings in the greenhouse right now. 
> > While
> > this project is in its infancy, we are already
> > excited
> > about some of our preliminary findings.  
> >
> > Because of this success and because there are
> still
> > large areas from which we have no germplasm, I am
> > once
> > again asking for help collecting seed from wild
> > populations of black raspberry.  We are screening
> > the
> > seedlings for insect and disease resistance traits
> > as
> > well as assessing genetic diversity in wild
> > populations.  Any seed left over will then go to
> the
> > National Clonal Germplasm Repository here in
> > Corvallis, Oregon which stores Rubus germplasm and
> > makes it available to interested researchers
> around
> > the world.
> >
> > If you are interested in helping with this project
> > or
> > would like to learn more please contact me at
> > phainopepla@yahoo.com or
> > dossettm@hort.oregonstate.edu
> >
> > Thanks!
> >
> > Michael Dossett
> >
> >
> >
> > Michael Dossett
> > Corvallis, Oregon
> > www.Mdossettphoto.com
> > phainopepla@yahoo.com