Fungus?

[cbc101]

Hi all,

Most times that I try to germinate seeds they tend to get a fungus.

I've tried using fungicides but nothing seems to help. Any suggestions?

PS the white stuff in the background is perlite, I tried using this medium as an experiment to see if it would help.

[Kostas]

From what i can see,the seed has sores where the endosperm is exposed at the places the fungus is...In this case,there is little you can do...Just keep it a little drier and hope the fungus doesnt progress fast and that its not in a criical for germination spot...Unless germinated under sterile conditions,such seeds require frequent checks and they are risky at all stages till you have a seedling with root and leaf...Then,you dont care too much what happens to the seed...

If there is no naked endosperm there,just keep rubing it off under the tap as it appears and after a few times,it will stop reappearing In this case,there is nothing risky about a white fungus like that and the seed can germinate safely even with it on...

Btw,which Ceroxylon species is it?

[John in Andalucia]

I'll just add that I think your perlite is too wet. It looks fused together. It should be dry enough to flow like sand, and only moist enough to clump if you compress it into a ball.

[Gbarce]

your medium looks too wet.

Do you boil the medium to sterilize it?

I "boil and bake". Boil the medium to kill any pathogens then bake it a bit to lessen the moisture content.

When I soak seeds I add powdered fungicide to the water to coat the exterior.

[Gbarce]

From my limited experience with seeds though -- if a seed gets fungus it usually means that it was dead inside to begin with.

[cbc101]

Thanks for all your comments and tips guys. The perlite is about 3 inches high and there is a little water settled at the bottom of the bag.

Well it could have been the seeds. I placed 3 seeds in perlite and the rest in some potting mix and even the ones in the potting mix started to develop fungus If my memory is correct the fungus appeared about 3-4 days after "potting".

Next time I will try the boil and bake technique.

[edric]

You're using too much Perlite, Perlite is intended for drainage in the medium, try using coco peat coir, with 5 or 10 percent Perlite, do not over water, provide excellent ventilation, if you're soaking your seeds first, make sure you change the water every six hours min., Ed

[Gbarce]

For the "Boil and Bake" method I was referring to the medium that I use is coco coir dust or coco peat.

I am not sure how that method would work with perlite and other bagging media.