Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruth_10
So, Carolyn, it has always seemed puzzling to me that seeds would still be losing moisture after say, five or ten years. Would not a seed the size of a tomato seed be in equilibrium with the ambient moisture much sooner than that?
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Ruth, it's one thing to postulate, it's another to observe what happens.
Without any data to point you too all I can say is that in general, the older the seed, the poorer the germination.
I would imagine that it all depends on what the interaction is within the seed as to protein denaturation as well as alteration of DNA, but here I too am speculating as to why germination goes down with seed age.
And since rehydration works pretty well with some older seeds perhaps there is something to the continual dehybradtion of seeds and that equilibration is not reached.
The recommendation for seed storage at freezer temps is to take the moisture level down to 6-8% with silica gel and I don't think that can be achieved at ambient humidity levels.