Fungus Question

[Gbarce]

Turns out most of the seeds I sow that are just getting the "cloudy white formation" on the shell are actually already dead already upon closer inspection.

Do seeds develop fungus because they already are dead or does fungus just develop sporadically and "attack" seeds and eventually kill it?

[Breadfruit Bill]

I believe the fungi and other bad things grow on the outside of the seed and then feeds on the seeds nutrients...  This nasty green powdery stuff ate almost all of my Psuedophoenix ekmanii...  

[Logolight]

I just had a mold attack in one of my germination containers.  I had to perform a palm seed-ectomy, re-sterilize the container, and change out the Pete, but the mold killed 3 of my Spindle seeds.  I don't know how the mold formed in that one container considering I used the same sowing proccess in the other containers, but it did.

This is the biggest reason why I place my containers where I acn inspect them easily every day.

[Matt in SD]

I always use coco-peat for germination and haver never actually had mold growing on the coco-peat.  Rarely I'll get some growth on a seed or seedling.  When I used peat, perlite, and/or vermiculite, I definitely had more mold issues.

I have had seeds that had mold on the outside, but the inside is fine.  And I've had seeds that rot on the inside and never show any signs of fungus growth outside.  So I sort of think that there are different types of fungi at work causing "inside-out" rot, and the more common molds that you actually see.

Anyone else noticed a difference in fungal growth with coco-peat?

Matt

[Mike Evans]

I germinate seed w/ the Sphagnum moss & baggie method.  After I clean the seed, I soak them in water & dissolved baking soda for at least a day.  The baking soda acts as a natural fungicide.  Seems to eliminate most of the mold / fungus problems.

[Gbarce]

I have not heard of that Baking soda trick -- I will try that on my next batch.

Is it possible to "poison" a seed with fungicide and other chemicals?  Sometimes i wonder if I do more harm than good by being over cautious.

[Kris]

Dear Gene  

even i encountered this problem initially,but when i socked the seeds in luke warm water in a thermos flask for 3 to 7 days

changing water regularly.and on the finial day of placing these seeds in the baggie bag i left the seeds in liquid bleach solution for half an hour and allowed it to air dry for 5 to 6

minutes.and then placed those seeds in a air tight baggie bag.that solved all my problems of seed rot.now if the seeds

used are fresh they germinate or else they remain idel.but no

fungus or seed rot seen.

i will not advocate using heavy arbasive or acid kind of stuff on seeds.and also the medium like spungyum moss & coco pete should not be over damp.

and william even my domenican cherry palm all rotted due to

less porous medium.but i will try this variety later.but they

are still in my seed germination wish list !  

Love,

Kris  

[Tyrone]

I've learnt that different fungi species have very narrow temp ranges to proliferate. If you are using some sort of artificial heat, turning it off at night to get a day night fluctuation tends to inhibit the fungi growth a lot. However if you have lots of spores in there, and old seed, it can take hold. Fungicides are good, but they don't kill fungus, the merely inhibit them. By being very clean, not producing a too damp medium, using fresh seed and an appropriate temp with day night fluctuation the results can be impressive.

best regards

Tyrone

[Kris]

Dear Tyrone  

Well Said & I fully agree with your method.its sounds very

logical too..

love,

Kris  

[Logolight]

This could have been the issue in my case.  I keep the containers in my garage as it's the warmest place away from the sun and the daily temps average 32C.  However, it's been hot enough in Jacksonville lately that the temperature in my garage never drops below 28C at night.