Presowing Seed Treatment. Part 1

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Careful and competently carried out pre-sowing seed treatment is the key to excellent germination and healthy strong vegetation. The purpose of this treatment is to increase the germination of seeds and get rid of seed-borne diseases of all kinds of crops. High-quality treatment with stimulants and hardening also give the seedlings strength for their active growth, making them more resistant to all kinds of unfavorable natural factors

A few words about seedbed preparation

Such processing of seed material is carried out quite often. It is mainly exposed to the seeds of the main garden crops: vegetables grown by seedlings (eggplants, peppers, tomatoes, etc.) and crops sown directly in greenhouses or open ground (pumpkins, melons, zucchini, watermelons). The most famous methods of pre-sowing treatment are soaking, pickling in stimulating and disinfecting solutions, heating, calibration, germination, hardening.

Basically, before sowing, seeds received from other gardeners or harvested independently are processed. Seeds purchased in specialized stores are usually already processed by various industrial methods, and they can immediately be sown in the ground, limited only by germination and hardening.

Treatment (or disinfection) of seeds

It can be chemical or hydrothermal and prevents the occurrence of diseases in vegetation.

Hydrothermal disinfection consists in alternating processing of seed material, first with hot water, and then with cold water. In this case, the temperature of hot water should be in the range from 48 to 53 degrees, and the time of such processing should be approximately 15 - 20 minutes.

There are two methods of chemical dressing: semi-dry (prepared seeds moistened with water are powdered with various pesticides) and dry (powdered pesticides are applied to the entire surface of the seeds with this method). TMTD is one of the main agents used for chemical disinfection of seeds: for 1 kg of seeds, usually 3 - 8 g of the agent are taken. At home processing it is much easier to use: 10% hydrogen peroxide solution preheated to 38 - 45 degrees (holding time - 7 - 8 minutes); baking soda solution (for 1 liter of water - 5 g) with a holding time of 20 minutes; and, of course, a solution of the notorious potassium permanganate (0.5 - 1%), also with a twenty-minute exposure.

Calibration

This activity is necessary to determine the quality of seeds prepared for planting. To this end, they should be immersed for five minutes in water or a solution of sodium chloride (3-5%), mix well and let stand for three to five minutes. The floating seeds are immediately removed along with the rest of the solution, and the seeds that settle to the bottom of the container must be thoroughly rinsed in running water, and then dried in drafts or in the shade. They are categorically not suitable for drying out central heating batteries and the sun, in no case should you forget about this.

As for size, vegetable seeds are divided into small (turnips, carrots), medium (eggplants, tomatoes and cabbage), large (radish, beets, cucumber, melon) and very large (for example, peas, zucchini, beans and pumpkin) …

Hardening

Hardening helps to increase the endurance to temperature fluctuations, as well as to the rather low temperatures of such capricious and warmth-loving crops as melon with watermelon, eggplant, pepper and tomato.

For several days, the swollen seeds begin to be exposed to temperature changes: not only negative (in the range of -1- -3 degrees), but also positive (in the range from 18 to 20 degrees). The alternation of temperatures is carried out about every 12 hours. You can also use short-term freezing of seeds, from five to twenty days continuously keeping them at a temperature of 2 - 5 degrees. At the end of the procedure, the seeds are kept at room temperature until they are sown.

You can also harden swollen seeds cooled to 0 degrees for three to ten days.