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Seed germination and

seedling establishment

Objectives of today’s lecture


• Learn about horticultural practices that
are used to promote seed germination
and seedling growth
• Prenatal and postpartum care of plants
Seed germination and seedling
establishment

2 major uses of seeds in


agriculture
• Plant part that is harvested
for food, either directly or
after processing
• Used for propagating plants
• a $23 billion market for
seeds worldwide
Why are seeds used for
plant propagation?
Advantages
• relatively inexpensive
• many seeds produced from a single plant
• convenient for storage
• naturally dormant in many cases
• long shelf life
• disease free propagation
• few pathogens carried by seeds
Why are seeds used for
plant propagation?
Disadvantages
• Genetic segregation of traits - plants grown
from seed may not be genetically identical
to the parent plant; examples include:
• Seed produced from plants that are self-
incompatible, e.g. apples
• Seed produced from F1 hybrids, e.g. onions,
sweet corn
Why are seeds used for
plant propagation?

Disadvantages
• Time to maturity
• Apple trees grown from seed may grow for
10 years before bearing fruit
• Potatoes grown from seed take 2 years to
produce tubers
Important criteria for
seeds used in propagation

• Viability and vigor


• percent seed germination
• rate of germination
• rate of seedling growth
Important criteria for
seeds used in propagation

• For most horticultural crops viability and


vigor are maintained when seed are
stored at:
• low temperatures
• low humidity
• Note that these are the opposite of the
conditions that promote germination
Long term storage of seeds

• Seeds of many species are kept under


refrigeration for long term storage
National Seed Storage Lab in Colorado
• repository for many species
• important for preservation of germplasm, a
gene bank
• stored in liquid nitrogen
• seed are regrown every few years
Seed quality

• Seed quality is important in commercial sales


• Federal and state regulations
• Indiana requires all seed to be tested (by the
State Chemist’s Office) and labeled
• percent pure seed
• percent weed seed
• percent germination
• date of testing
Conditions for seed
germination

Successful seed germination requires


• Viable, vigorous seed
• Adequate moisture
• Supply of oxygen
• Appropriate temperature
• Protection from pathogens and pests
Seed dormancy

• Some seed will NOT germinate under


standard conditions; seed are dormant
• require specific treatments (temperature,
abrasion, light) to break seed dormancy and
before seed will germinate
Breaking seed dormancy

• Stratification

• Scarification
Methods of seeding

Direct seeding
• Seeds are planted where the plants will
grow to maturity or harvest
• Convenient to use
• Adaptable to mechanization
• Not well suited for very small seed
• Obtaining a good stand of plants requires
soil preparation
Methods of seeding

Indirect seeding
• Two stage process with seeds germinated in
a nursery before being transplanted to field
• Ensures good stand establishment
• Crop matures earlier
• Increased costs
• More difficult to mechanize
• Higher level of crop management
Conditions for seed
germination

Successful seed germination requires


• Viable, vigorous seed
• Adequate moisture
• Supply of oxygen
• Appropriate temperature
• Protection from pathogens and pests
Moisture is required for
seed germination

• Seed survive at very low moisture


• Germination starts with imbibition,uptake
of water into the seed
• Once seed are imbibed and development
is initiated, the seedling is very sensitive
to dehydration
Moisture for germination

Maintaining an adequate supply of water is essential


for good germination
In greenhouse (indirect seeding)
• thorough watering after seeding
• monitoring of soil moisture and regular watering or
misting
• using plastic wrap to retain water
Beware! Many pathogens thrive under high humidity
conditions
Moisture for germination

Direct seeding
• preparation of seed bed
• good contact between soil particles and
seeds facilitates uptake of water into seed
• planting at appropriate depth
• deep enough so the soil doesn’t dry out
• shallow enough that the seed will emerge
before its reserves are exhausted
Germination requires oxygen

• Oxygen is readily available if seed is


planted in a well drained, porous
medium - soil or greenhouse mix
• Oxygen deprivation results from
waterlogging, flooding or other soil
drainage problems
Temperature

Requirement varies between


species
• Temperature can be adjusted in
greenhouse
• use of “bottom heat”
• In the field, planting depends on
environmental conditions and
weather, not necessarily the
calendar
Protection from pathogens

• Developing seedlings are a rich


source of food for microbes
• Seedlings are relatively unprotected
• cuticle and other defenses are not fully
developed in young seedlings
• Many fungal pathogens cause
“damping off” of seedlings
• Phytophthora, Pythium, Rhizoctonia
Protection from pathogens

Preventive measures include:


• soil pasteurization (180˚F, 30 min)
• using purchased sterilized soil mix
• clean containers
• controlling moisture
• using clean seed
• use of fungicides, seed treatments
Seed coatings

• Seeds can be coated with a variety of


compounds to enhance germination and
seedling growth
• Fertilizer - to stimulate growth
• Insecticide - to prevent insect damage
• Fungicide - to inhibit growth of fungal
pathogens
Specialized seeding methods

• Hydroseeding
• Spray application of primed seed in a mix
containing mulch and fertilizer
Other seeding methods

• Liquid drilling
• Seeds are germinated under controlled
conditions, until the radicle emerges
• Germinated seeds are mixed into a gel that
contains fertilizer
• Mixture is sown in prepared field
• Pre-germinated seed promotes rapid growth
of seedling
Conclusions

• Seeds are living organisms, handle with


care
• Successful establishment of seedlings
requires a rapid transition from dry seed to
autotrophic plant
• A variety of horticultural practices are
used to promote seedling establishment

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