Metallic green tomato seeds

[clara]

I've got some tomato varieties from a Russian commercial seed seller (Gavrish) which are looking metallic green, like little gemstones.

1. What is this cover?

2. Is there something special I should pay attention to when starting them?

Any info/help/advice is much appreciated! clara

[strawman]

probably a fungicide

[Boutique Tomatoes]

Yes, the commercial Hungarian paprika seeds I recieved had a similar looking coating on them. The packages had a sticker on them in english explaining that it was a fungicide treatment because the varieties were normally direct seeded before the soil was warm.

[delltraveller]

I've seen hybrid summer squash with this same metallic green coating. It's some sort of polymer. It can have fungicides or pesticides or fertilizers in it. It prevents seeds from sticking to each other and that assists in mechanical/machine planting.

[clara]

Thanks a lot for these infos!

Do the seeds take longer to germinate with this cover? Should I soak them before putting them into the starting mix or would that even be contra-productive? clara

[janezee]

Hi, clara,
I have some of marktutt's pepper seeds, (TY, mark) and they seemed to come up at the same time as the other seeds I planted the same day, with no problems. I did not soak them. Just planted in starting mix and watered.

jane

[clara]

Jane, thank you very much for this info!! clara

[greyghost]

Clara, I often buy seeds from a vendor such as Harris seeds who supply
seeds with and with out the green coating. It's a fungicide. I find it
beneficial on cucumbers, beans, etc. I find I get better germination,
especially in cooler or more wet soils. Sometimes, the fungicide coating
is pink. The few hybrid tomato varieties I get from Harris have that same
green coating.

[clara]

greyghost, thank you, too! I'm already looking forward to trying the metallic seeds! They will be in my last seed tray, together with some non-metallic ones.

BTW, a tomato with this color of ripe fruit would be great! clara

[Moshou]

Clara,

I bought some tomato seeds from Hungary, in November 2011. The producer is ZKI company. Hungary is part of European Union and seeds production is in compliance with EU regulations.

The seeds are looking metallic green, little gemstones, as you mentioned.
On the back of package I can see a note:'Treated with TMTD'

According to
http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/extoxnet/pyrethrins-ziram/thiram-ext.html

TMTD is tetramethylthiruram disulfide (C6H12N2S4), also referred to as thiram. It is used as a fungicide in agriculture.

Thiram belongs to the ethylene bisdithiocarbamate (EBDC) chemical class. The EBDCs are fungicides used to prevent crop damage in the field and to protect harvested crops from deterioration in storage or transport

Thiram is registered as a general use pesticide by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In July 1987, the Environmental Protection Agency announced the initiation of a special review of the ethylene bisdithiocarbamates (EBDCs), a class of chemicals to which thiram belongs. This Special Review was initiated because of concerns raised by laboratory tests on rats and mice. The EPA was concerned about a) potential effects on the general population from dietary exposure to residues left on food crops and b) potential occupational health risks to workers who handle and/or apply EBDC pesticides. As part of the Special Review, EPA reviewed data from market basket surveys and concluded that actual levels of EBDC residues on produce purchased by consumers are too low to affect human health.

Thiram is nearly immobile in clay soils or in soils high in organic matter. Because it is only slightly soluble in water (30 mg/l) and has a strong tendency to adsorb to soil particles (Koc = 383 g/ml), thiram is not expected to contaminate groundwater. The soil half-life for thiram is 15 days. Thiram degrades more rapidly in acidic soils and in soils high in organic matter. In a humus sandy soil, at pH 3.5 , thiram decomposed after 4 to 5 weeks, while at pH 7.0, thiram decomposed after 14 to 15 weeks. Thiram persisted for over two months in a sandy soils, but disappeared within one week from a compost soil. The major metabolites of thiram in the soil are copper dimethyl-dithiocarbamate, dithiocarbamate, dimethylamine and carbon disulfide

[greyghost]

Thanks, Moshou, for that info. Years ago, seeds were generally coated
with a pink fungicide (especially corn seed-think it still is). If memory serves
me correctly, the packages usually stated that the seeds were Captan treated. At the time, you could find small packets of this pink fungicide in
ag stores.

[clara]

Thanks a lot, Moshou, for your infos! With these infos, nobody has to be afraid of using them, I think. clara