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seeds germination test: floaters

caroltlw

caroltlw

I'm having a bad time germinating my Greek pepperoncinis. I harvested, sorted and saved the seed the exact same way I did for all my other peppers from last year but instead of 90%+ germination rate I'm getting more like 20%. Now this really annoys me because I gave some of these seeds away or included them in trades and the recipients won't have much luck either (lesson learned).
Sooo... I decided to do the "float test" on some of the seeds I have left. Here's what I got:

S6307398.jpg


Remarkably similar FAIL ratio. I've separated the floaters from the sinkers and put them all into germination. If my hunch is correct the sinkers will be good and the floaters not.
But what is the most likely cause of this failure? I didn't let the red peppers sit long enough to ripen all the seeds? The Greeks have a LOT of seeds per pod. Or is it some crossing issue where only recessive-recessive were viable? The only thing they could have crossed with is other annuums even thought they were separated by maybe 40' and I had a shortage of flying insects last year.

Anyone else experiment with the float test?
 
I've done alot of tests with the floater vs sinkers since I almost aways do a 24 soak before planting and it seems to not be an indication of viability.
 
imaguitargod said:
I've done alot of tests with the floater vs sinkers since I almost aways do a 24 soak before planting and it seems to not be an indication of viability.
Click to expand...

But were you testing on some known bad seeds?
I didn't soak them for more than a few minutes and I only have hopes for the ones that sank right away, since that is before they could take on water and maybe tip the scales. ::shrug::

I will post the results of my quasi-scientific study when they sprout.
 
I've found out that the seed's sink vs. float ability has minimal effect on germination. Since not all seeds are the same, density between seeds of the same species may slightly vary around ~1.00 (density of H2O)

Just because a seed floats does not mean that there is no embryo inside, and it could just mean that...

- The seed has a higher surface area/mass ratio
- The seed is not completely filled with endosperm (food for the embryo) and that there is a small air pocket
 
I had to work with a grad student back in 2000 or 2001 taking fecal samples on diabetic rats. While we worked, he used to delight in detailing his bowel movements to me. He detailed the difference between oat bran poos and rice bran poos and steak-the-night before-poos and the difference between the floaters and the sinkers.

Every time I read the title of this thread, I flash back on those morning poo reports.
 
I experimented with floaters vs. sinkers also. Sometimes the entire pack of seeds from a certain pepper would float. Most of these seeds would end up germinating. From my observation I would say this test is not a good indication of seed viability.
 
that is really disgusting. gross people these days lol
Pam said:
I had to work with a grad student back in 2000 or 2001 taking fecal samples on diabetic rats. While we worked, he used to delight in detailing his bowel movements to me. He detailed the difference between oat bran poos and rice bran poos and steak-the-night before-poos and the difference between the floaters and the sinkers.

Every time I read the title of this thread, I flash back on those morning poo reports.
Click to expand...
 
Well, I've thrown a bunch of hab seeds in that I'd pre-soaked, about 1/2 floated, so we'll see what happens. :)
 
Looks like it's not a good idea to throw anything away just because it floats then.

Now if this test I'm doing actually works to show me which of my problem seeds are likely to germinate I will use it on a limited basis. I guess I should do the same test on some of my seeds that have been hatching near 100%. ...thinking... I've come up with an excuse to germinate more peppers!
 
update:
So far it's working exactly the opposite of what I thought. There are several sprouts in the floater seeds and none in the sinkers. Will have to stick them in dirt later today when it warms up a bit.

OK, "several" turned into a dozen with nice long roots. They went into an egg carton. Left more smaller ones for later.
 
Many more germinating from the floater batch. Only one small tail from the sinkers. My curiosity is satisfied so I dumped the rest of them in the trash. I'm keeping the dozen in the egg carton to give away to friends.
 
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