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seeds Can u germinate dried pod seeds?

DSCN2195.jpg

http://www.bhut-jolokia.net/.25-oz-trinidad-chocolate-7-pot-douglah-dried.html
 
Seed will die (and become useless) after they have been heated above 40 °C (104 °F). 
 
If your peppers were sun dried, or dried in a low temperature dehydrator, then YES, they may grow, IF they aren't too old. More than a couple of years old, and you'll have little success.
 
On the other hand, if the peppers were industrially dried (high temp), then NO, they are dead.
 
I've got 2-3 year old seeds I've just successfully germinated this year that were dried at about 105F in a dehydrator. 100% agree that it depends on how they were dried as to what your success rate is going to be.
 
 
 
Seed will die (and become useless) after they have been heated above 40 °C (104 °F). 
Click to expand...
Where did you get that info? Peppers grown in the southwest US frequently experience temperatures over 110F and occasionally above 115F and they keep making little baby peppers each year. I have seen 125 stated as a max safe drying temperature, but never with any solid references.
 
PepperWhisperer said:
Where did you get that info? Peppers grown in the southwest US frequently experience temperatures over 110F and occasionally above 115F and they keep making little baby peppers each year. I have seen 125 stated as a max safe drying temperature, but never with any solid references.
Click to expand...
 
When Peppers (or any other fruit or vegetable) are still attached to a plant with a root system, the peppers get a constant supply of water and nutrients from the ground, making them able to withstand higher temperatures until sundown. Once detached from a plant, the peppers start to lose water, vitamins, and basically start a slow decay. Heat at this point dries them out quickly.
 
Where did I get this info? Mostly common sense, and an education in biology. If you don't believe it, by all means use Google for 2 minutes and verify for yourself. 
 
I'm not talking about live pods on the plant. Peppers are traditionally dried in the Southwest strung up in ristras which are hung out in the open air. In a natural environment they dry up on the plant and fall on the surface of the ground and are exposed to the same temperatures, still producing viable seed.
 
Apparently (courtesy of google) there is an equation for seed viability that depends on time, temperature, moisture content, and several species specific constants. Source: http://hortsci.ashspublications.org/content/44/6/1679.full
 
graphic-1.gif

where
graphic-2.gif

 
p : time in days
t : temperature in Celsius
m: moisture % of fresh weight
 
"universal" values for CH and CQ and species specific values for KE and CW
graphic-9.gif

 
So now we can calculate it (yay!). This explains how seeds remain viable in hot desert environments: the moisture level is low which is good for seed life. What I still don't know is what temperature is lethal to chili pepper seeds in the short exposure times typical of the pepper drying process. The temperature to kill varies significantly by species, take a look at the chart on page 2 here: http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/vegetable/files/2010/10/E-326.-Easy-Gardening-Composting-to-Kill-Weed-Seeds.pdf Some species are dead in a matter of hours at 108F, others can handle 115F indefinitely and some can survive for several days at 122F.
 
I thought that seeds from freshly dried pods were the best for germination because you know the age and they are not too old.  My Jamaican hot chocolate seeds never germinated last year and apparently no one else's did either from the same company.  They said they were probably to old but maybe they also got to hot?
 
PepperWhisperer said:
I'm not talking about live pods on the plant. Peppers are traditionally dried in the Southwest strung up in ristras which are hung out in the open air. In a natural environment they dry up on the plant and fall on the surface of the ground and are exposed to the same temperatures, still producing viable seed.
 
Apparently (courtesy of google) there is an equation for seed viability that depends on time, temperature, moisture content, and several species specific constants. Source: http://hortsci.ashspublications.org/content/44/6/1679.full
 
graphic-1.gif

where
graphic-2.gif

 
p : time in days
t : temperature in Celsius
m: moisture % of fresh weight
 
"universal" values for CH and CQ and species specific values for KE and CW
graphic-9.gif

 
So now we can calculate it (yay!). This explains how seeds remain viable in hot desert environments: the moisture level is low which is good for seed life. What I still don't know is what temperature is lethal to chili pepper seeds in the short exposure times typical of the pepper drying process. The temperature to kill varies significantly by species, take a look at the chart on page 2 here: http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/vegetable/files/2010/10/E-326.-Easy-Gardening-Composting-to-Kill-Weed-Seeds.pdf Some species are dead in a matter of hours at 108F, others can handle 115F indefinitely and some can survive for several days at 122F.
Click to expand...
 
 
 
Great. Google is a wonderful tool. :)
 
108F according to that equation.
 
40C or 104-105F is the general safe limit that I mentioned above. Don't go above 105F and seeds won't die, just like I said in my first post. I suppose you could push to 107.9F if you wish, but why risk killing precious seeds.
 
Wow, and to think all the plants I grew this year, from seeds dried out "in my oven warming tray set @ 105-115" last year must be some kind of superplants or perhaps a figment of my imagination.
*sarcasm intended*
These Seeds did just fine germinating - outside - with no presoaking - in a Homer bucket - naturally watered etc.....
for the OP : just remember - short of taking a kitchen torch to the seeds, avoid extreme heat, use gradual heat application, try using a fan as well as heat...
And always remember : Any rule beginning with Never or Always should be suspect
:-)
 
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