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Old 01-18-2008, 01:58 PM   #2 (permalink)
inkcube
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Default Re: Seeds and chemicals

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lodewijkp View Post
1. Ok i heard that pouring boiling water over banana seeds wil remove the chemicals that prevent germination, i did this with palm seeds with thick coating for a few years and it did no harm to them.

did someone tried this with nanner seeds ?
some of the data coming from one my grad students in my lab indicates that many of these "dormancy chemicals" lie in the outer seeds tissue; endosperm, seed coat, integuments, or chalazal mass. he has also tried fire and it removed the micropylar plug which when sowed on soilless mix lead to fungus & rot. my thoughts are that boiling water may have the same effect on the micropylar plug.

evidence is strong that the chemicals controlling dormancy lie within the seed; excised embryos in our lab exhibit no dormancy and are easily cultured aseptically.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lodewijkp View Post
2. banana seeds naturally are in ground with lots of bacteria and fungus, wil sterile ground - reduce the overall germination rate - ?
the same student tested substrates and got equal germination rate on peat (peat based mix or peat pellets), paper towel, agar, phytogel.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lodewijkp View Post
3. In the wild nanners seeds wil rot in the banana, my point is that al the fruit contains yeast. Yeast wil increase when the banana fruit rots is this of any importance ?
i am currently running a trial that is somewhat similar to this but focusing not on yeast but instead on gases released by decay. yeast most likely will not directly aid germination but the gases they release may.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lodewijkp View Post
4. after a while ( got seeds for 3 months now ) do they need a re-soak for 48 hours or are they still ok ?
i'll leave this for some one else, our seeds are fresh.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lodewijkp View Post
5. did some1 experimented with germination seeds in the garden outside ?
i'll leave this for some one else, we only germinate using sterile mix or TC media.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lodewijkp View Post
6. scarifiing seeds ? helps or not helps ? coincidence ? or is this really helpful
most of our data indicates that chemical scarification actually reduced germination and mechanical scarification helped germination but only under sterile conditions - when mechanically scarified seeds were sown on various substrates in the greenhouse they failed to germinate, when examined the interior of the seed was decayed.
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