Peroxide as a Seed Disinfectant

[buffy]

Anybody try soaking seeds in 3% hydrogen peroxide overnight to kill all the viruses, bacterium and fungi before sowing or bagging? I tried it on a set of Sabal seeds, and it seems to have produced the desired result of no seed funk. Seeds are germinating fine.

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

That's not a bad idea. What medium do you use to germinate them in? Is it also sterile?

[KennyRE317]

i soak in peroxide and water 50/50 mix before germinating and when they're in their bins with dirt i'll mist them with the same ratio mix. it's worked well for me so far

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

Kenny, what have you germinated?

[Silas_Sancona]

Yes, use H.P. quite often on most seed when sowing. Have also tried using Neem oil on a batch of Ptychosperma elegans seed with good results so far. Have also used Peroxide to clean damaged/ rotted portions Plumerias, Cacti, and Succulents with good results.

-Nathan-

[MattyB]

I've soaked in bleach and hydrogen peroxide and I still get fungus when I try the baggie method. I've never soaked overnight though.

[Sabal Steve]

I never get fungus with open air containers - unlike the baggie method.

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

Yeah, I am done with the baggie method, failure rate due to fungus is way, way too high. I am going to switch to open air containers with 50% perlite 50% vermiculite sterilized with peroxide, and do what Kenny does, spray diluted peroxide ever so often.

[buffy]

With my little bit of reading, its seems you really need to soak things for awhile for peroxide to really up its efficacy. That's why I think a couple of hours is a good idea.

[KennyRE317]

  On 6/12/2014 at 8:23 PM, buffy said:

With my little bit of reading, its seems you really need to soak things for awhile for peroxide to really up its efficacy. That's why I think a couple of hours is a good idea.

i soak in my 50/50 peroxide and water mix overnight

[KennyRE317]

  On 6/12/2014 at 8:08 PM, Brahea Axel said:

Yeah, I am done with the baggie method, failure rate due to fungus is way, way too high. I am going to switch to open air containers with 50% perlite 50% vermiculite sterilized with peroxide, and do what Kenny does, spray diluted peroxide ever so often.

i actually use old tupperware boxes and plastic coffee buckets with the lids on them, i do have some Chamaedorea radicalis from my plant that i'm doing open air but it'll be the first time i do it this way since all the other times i've kept the lids completely closed and in closed cardboard box in direct sunlight. my mix is 50% coco peat and 50% perlite. every once in awhile before they get sprayed down they'll sit open aired in the shade to allow to breathe for a few hours. i've done a few Dypsis, Chamaedorea, Pritchardia.

Once the seeds sprout and i get about 1/2"-1" growth out of the seed i'll pluck them and pop them into individual 4" pots and i'll cut my germinating mix with 50% bagged stuff from the big box store and stick them in one of those little hobby greenhouses. i pluck them early because when there are fewer roots and they're shorter it makes it much easier without damaging anything. i proably give them water once every 2 weeks.

I never used the baggie method because stacking Tupperware boxes make it easier to store and stack without disturbing anything. small seeds I just barely cover them with a layer of my mix and large seeds I push them in slightly so half the seed is buried and half exposed

Edited June 12, 2014 by KennyRE317

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

  On 6/12/2014 at 8:23 PM, buffy said:

With my little bit of reading, its seems you really need to soak things for awhile for peroxide to really up its efficacy. That's why I think a couple of hours is a good idea.

That's good to know. Next ones get soaked for a few hours.

I re-soaked my chamaedorea stricta seeds that haven't germinated yet, three of them germinated, one rotted, the others got the re-soaking to hopefully prevent any rot. Those were quite expensive, each seed is about $8.

I am going to do the same with the Ceroxylon Peruviana seeds since these haven't popped yet.

[ahicks51]

I do a lot of plant tissue culture; mainly we use chlorine- either as bleach or sodium dichloroisocyanurate- but peroxide also works well. I wouldn't consider it anti-viral, however.

Chlorine is better on spores than peroxide. Some people suggest strong light helps the disinfection process by catalyzing the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide, forming more free radicals which in turn oxidize cell membranes, etc. The plant tissues are affected less strongly due to the presence of cell walls in plants.

Another trick is to add sugar- about 2% sucrose (20 grams/liter). Sugar helps spores germinate, which makes them immediately susceptible to disinfectants, unlike the spores.

[buffy]

That's great stuff. Thanks for the information.

[Phoenikakias]

  On 6/12/2014 at 7:01 PM, MattyB said:

I've soaked in bleach and hydrogen peroxide and I still get fungus when I try the baggie method. I've never soaked overnight though.

Same experience as of MattyB

[gob1]

Is there a consensus on the concentration of peroxide to use please? From this thread it appears 3% is used, but some palmtalkers dilute this 50/50 with water.

[buffy]

OK. So with my last batch of Sabal hybrid seeds, I'm getting close to 100% germination with the overnight 3% hydrogen peroxide soak. Not one single plant has damped off. I'd like to see some other people try some other species to see if this is a function of the process or the quality of the seeds I received.

[Cindy Adair]

Thanks for all the ideas everyone!

[avanza]

Thank you very much for this idea, it's new for me too.

[Dmcdonald]

I soaked some C.renda seeds I got from Jeff in Costa Rica overnight in peroxide and then put them in a 50/50 spaghnum/perlite mix yesterday. They are in starter cups in a cardboard box in my garage. Gonna check them daily and mist as needed to ensure they stay moist. I will try using a 50/50 mix for the spray. Also soaked some Geonoma interrupta That I am going to try a couple different germination methods on. Will update when something sprouts.

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

I tried this on some old brahea pimo seeds that just haven't germinated yet. We'll see if the soak worked.

[nicholas99]

  On 6/12/2014 at 10:28 PM, ahicks51 said:

I do a lot of plant tissue culture; mainly we use chlorine- either as bleach or sodium dichloroisocyanurate- but peroxide also works well. I wouldn't consider it anti-viral, however.

 

Chlorine is better on spores than peroxide. Some people suggest strong light helps the disinfection process by catalyzing the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide, forming more free radicals which in turn oxidize cell membranes, etc. The plant tissues are affected less strongly due to the presence of cell walls in plants.

 

Another trick is to add sugar- about 2% sucrose (20 grams/liter). Sugar helps spores germinate, which makes them immediately susceptible to disinfectants, unlike the spores.

Expand  

Sorry to reply to an old post, but great timeless info here.
What ratio of pool chlorine to water do you suggest and how long to soak the palm seeds in it? Also how much sugar to add to the mix and when? 

[nicholas99]

  On 6/12/2014 at 7:01 PM, MattyB said:

I've soaked in bleach and hydrogen peroxide and I still get fungus when I try the baggie method. I've never soaked overnight though.

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How about putting a little Hydrogen Peroxide in the water used inside the baggie, like in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTLK55-Fl80 
Or  alternatively could a fungicide be put in there? 
Would either of these methods prevent fungus forming in the baggie? 
The baggie method seems very attractive to me as I can just put them in my hot box set to 84 degrees fahrenheit and leave them there without really needing to water or tend to them until after they germinate.

BTW, my seed germination "hot box" is an old dead fridge I picked up from the classifieds for free and that I have added a 24 watt flat reptile heater plugged into a thermostat-controlled power plug that I bought off Ebay as a set. The temperature probe cord for the thermostatic power plug and the power cord for the reptile heater both just go into the fridge door opening and when the door is closed the door seals still maintain an air-tight seal even with these two cords going past them. This setup maintains exactly 84 degrees and it seems the whole inside of the fridge is the same temperature within a couple of degrees even without using a fan to circulate the air. Just set this hot box up and happy with it so far, hopefully it will do the trick...?  

[nicholas99]

  On 6/14/2014 at 6:31 AM, gob1 said:

Is there a consensus on the concentration of peroxide to use please? From this thread it appears 3% is used, but some palmtalkers dilute this 50/50 with water.

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The hydrogen peroxide sold in drug stores (pharmacies / chemists) etc is usually around 3%. 
According to this video, we should aim for around 0.15% peroxide solution. So that means mixing one part of the 3% pharmacy peroxide with 20 parts of water: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLRWrjy8UGg 

BTW, the kit being sold in the above video claims ability to help really old seed sprout and to get seed to sprout a lot quicker. Has anyone tried this? http://www.bghydro.com/microclone-seed-starter-kit.html 
or know what amount of sugar may be in the seed hydrating liquid, and also in the seed germinating fluid? 
 

[beliz1985]

  On 6/12/2014 at 7:00 PM, Silas_Sancona said:

Yes, use H.P. quite often on most seed when sowing. Have also tried using Neem oil on a batch of Ptychosperma elegans seed with good results so far. Have also used Peroxide to clean damaged/ rotted portions Plumerias, Cacti, and Succulents with good results.

-Nathan-

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Hi, how did you use that Neem oil? thanks

[thiebeter]

  On 6/12/2014 at 10:28 PM, ahicks51 said:

Another trick is to add sugar- about 2% sucrose (20 grams/liter). Sugar helps spores germinate, which makes them immediately susceptible to disinfectants, unlike the spores.

Expand  

So could we say a 2% sucrose + chlorine(what kind of concentration should we be using here?) or 3-6% of hydrogen peroxide for at least 4-6 hours should do the job. I also tried to use something like Tween 20(emulsifer) to get into the last corner of every crack and whole, 1-2 drops.

Then leaf the seeds to 'room-dry' on the surface.

I guess when we do this we sterilzing the media also is an option, also i think perlite/vermiculite come naturaley with less contaminations but to be straight,  used in the baggy/box and THEN there is the question about how much water/dilutet hyodrogen peroxide to add to the media. I tried 30-40ml/1l perlite. Boiling water or 0,15% hydrogen peroxide solution. I have the feeling less is better, espezielly when the seeds are bigger or don't have a smooth surface.

And what keeps me busy then is: Cover the seeds completely, half covered? There i get the impression that fully covered might be better than half or completely uncovered. I use wire mesh baskets cause I tried to minimze the possibly left over causes for fungus by exposing the seeds in the bag to UV light for 30 Minutes/day by a normaly full spectrum grow light(SanLight) from both sides. Especially when i can't get of all fibres/hairs/shellparts i get the feeling that mold is always on its way like with these Borassodendron machadonis seeds (especially cause they all were gurgling after soaking)

I guess we'll find the 'perfect' way together

[SoulofthePlace]

Why would they add sodium benzoate into hydrogen peroxide solution?

[SoulofthePlace]

Why would they add sodium benzoate into hydrogen peroxide solution that is sold in pharmacies?

Sodium benzoate inhibits germination, establishment and development of rice plants.
Sodium benzoate inhibits germination, establishment and development of rice plants. (cabdirect.org)