Howdy all! I'm looking for some opinions on a little experiment I'm trying. I have a seed in my germination chamber that was starting to look a little funky. The seed casing was actually turning gray and I was suspecting it was rotten. Since I really wouldn't have anything to lose, I took an exacto knife and was able to carefully remove the entire seed casing. The embryo still looks good, so I left it in the medium. Has anyone ever tried this?
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seeds Seed casing removal
- Thread starter RedtailForester
- Start date
I quite often attack them with tweezers and a scalpel. Sometimes its the only way coz they do rot if left on too long.
Wayright...why do you need RTF to tend to your "helmet head?" That's a different website all together... 
Yeah, most of us get a little antsy when the seed caps end up getting stuck onto the cotyledon leaves.
And I have seen a few suggestions on how to remove the stuck seed caps.
Beaglestorm recently posted another good one:
http://www.thehotpepper.com/topic/19844-a-photo-guide-to-how-i-removed-stuck-seed-caps/page__p__417048__fromsearch__1#entry417048
dvg
Thanks for the link Doug. I read through that one a bunch of times but never posted anything (I'm so shy).
The biggest difference between the two is that this seed hadn't popped yet. I sometimes remove the seed cap from a seedling that has successfully germinated but this was different. Essentially, I have placed a potentially inactive embryo into the growth medium.
The biggest difference between the two is that this seed hadn't popped yet. I sometimes remove the seed cap from a seedling that has successfully germinated but this was different. Essentially, I have placed a potentially inactive embryo into the growth medium.
Oh okay, I get what you are saying now Dan.
Yes, I've heard of that being done with other types of seeds before.
I've heard of some tissue culture growers that would remove the seed shells from venus flytrap seeds because some of the vft seeds had internal fungal contaminants that would surface in tc.
Even though the external seed coats were rinsed and sterilized, once the seeds cracked the internal fungi were released and would then contaminate the flask the seeds were in.
But with the seed shells removed, the embryos were able to be sterilized of fungal contaminants, and those seeds showed fewer problems in tc.
But back to what you are doing Dan, I'm not sure I've ever heard of that being done with chile seeds, but that is one way to avoid the seed caps sticking to the young seedlings.
If a guy had a bit of spare time and some seeds to experiment on, it would be interesting to see how the shelled seeds did in comparison to the regular unshelled seeds, in regards to germination rates.
Let us know how the seed you shelled germinates and grows out for you.
dvg
Yes, I've heard of that being done with other types of seeds before.
I've heard of some tissue culture growers that would remove the seed shells from venus flytrap seeds because some of the vft seeds had internal fungal contaminants that would surface in tc.
Even though the external seed coats were rinsed and sterilized, once the seeds cracked the internal fungi were released and would then contaminate the flask the seeds were in.
But with the seed shells removed, the embryos were able to be sterilized of fungal contaminants, and those seeds showed fewer problems in tc.
But back to what you are doing Dan, I'm not sure I've ever heard of that being done with chile seeds, but that is one way to avoid the seed caps sticking to the young seedlings.
If a guy had a bit of spare time and some seeds to experiment on, it would be interesting to see how the shelled seeds did in comparison to the regular unshelled seeds, in regards to germination rates.
Let us know how the seed you shelled germinates and grows out for you.
dvg
if i am reading RTF's post correctly, the seed has not sprouted but is stagnat in the germination chamber and is wonder it by gentlely slicing the seed would that have any effect on increasing a seeds germination. i am guessing?
the beagleguy's experiment was to remove the seed cap from a recently sprouted plant.
the beagleguy's experiment was to remove the seed cap from a recently sprouted plant.
The seed casing was starting to look rotten so I removed the entire thing leaving only the immature embryo. If it works and the embryo remains viable, I've lost nothing. That being said, I can't see taking the time to do this to all seeds. I would like to keep some feeling in my hands. 
Hi BC,
Scarification is one way to get difficult seeds to germinate.
And that can be done by either using sand paper on the seed coat or chipping or nicking an edge of the seed coat.
But what RTF has done is totally remove the seed coat and has in effect shelled an unsprouted chile seed, just as one would shell a peanut or a sunflower seed...but shelling a chile seed probably takes a little more technical skill.
dvg
Scarification is one way to get difficult seeds to germinate.
And that can be done by either using sand paper on the seed coat or chipping or nicking an edge of the seed coat.
But what RTF has done is totally remove the seed coat and has in effect shelled an unsprouted chile seed, just as one would shell a peanut or a sunflower seed...but shelling a chile seed probably takes a little more technical skill.
dvg
BINGO! I basically shelled the little booger. Since it was already looking rotten, I figured why the heck not. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
If the casing wasn't already soft, it would have been much more difficult.
DAN
If the casing wasn't already soft, it would have been much more difficult.
DAN
i might try this with my rocotos, only 1 in 12 has germinated. my latest batch i put in the fridge for a week to see if that would trigger something and nothing so far. i know they can be slow to germinate. i might just use a toenail clipper and snip the edges and leave them in their baggie. the only rocoto that germinated was in soil and i was hoping to get 1 into some rockwool and get it into the dwc.
I did this semi-successfully with a rocoto. It germinated but I killed it with lack of water. rockwool dried up...
Binchster, did you remove the entire case like RTF or just clip the seed to open it up? (i wouldn't let it dry out.....assuming i get to the rockwool stage).
I Removed the whole casing after a few days in the rockwool, I just wanted to see if it would speed up germination, it did germinate a few days earlier than the others, but that could have been coincidence, not a large enough test to validate the theory. But they all suffered the same fate of drying out completely
I had left for work in a hurry that morning and didn't get a chance to check my babies.