Saving seeds question - Page 2

Solanum315 · August 23, 2017

So does anyone know specifically which pathogens are transmitted via seeds?

bower · August 23, 2017

Bacterial speck and bacterial spot and bacterial canker are the three biggies in bacterial that cannot be saved seed because it can penetrate the seed itself.

From what I have read bacterial canker is the worst of the three but for sure you don't want to save seed or share it with others if you have any of these bacterial diseases.

There is a hot water treatment - you need an appliance that will keep the temperature steady and a timer for how many minutes - which is supposed to kill bacterial and viral diseases in the endosperm of the seed.
But for plants that you know are diseased, the only reason for saving seed and treating it would be, if it is something rare and unrecoverable. Much easier to replace your seed from someone who had a clean year.
The fungal diseases like Septoria Early Blight and Botrytis are not a big seedborne issue afaik. Yes the spores could be present on seeds surface, but most places they are endemic anyway or they aren't a problem because they don't like the conditions and die out. They don't normally infect little seedlings the way bacterial or viral things do.
It would be great if people labeled their seeds to tell you what treatment they used. When I remembered to do it I labeled mine "fermented - UT" to let people know they were untreated except for fermenting, so if you want to bleach, do it before sowing. Sometimes I wondered if i should bleach treat seeds from unknown sources, but I didn't because it does reduce germination a bit, and if you bleached seeds that already were bleached...

Another reason I didn't bleach after fermenting, there's no way the air here is not full of spores of one thing or another and no guarantee there's no spore on my fingers, so I cannot pack a guaranteed spore free seed. Impossible. Bleach it and spores will land afterwards. It just makes sense to me, to ferment or otherwise clean healthy seeds, and let people know they should bleach themselves if concerned about surface stuff.

August 23, 2017	#16
Solanum315 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: New York Posts: 244	So does anyone know specifically which pathogens are transmitted via seeds? __________________ Scott http://worldtomatoes.blogspot.com/

August 23, 2017	#17
bower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 6,794	Bacterial speck and bacterial spot and bacterial canker are the three biggies in bacterial that cannot be saved seed because it can penetrate the seed itself. From what I have read bacterial canker is the worst of the three but for sure you don't want to save seed or share it with others if you have any of these bacterial diseases. There is a hot water treatment - you need an appliance that will keep the temperature steady and a timer for how many minutes - which is supposed to kill bacterial and viral diseases in the endosperm of the seed. But for plants that you know are diseased, the only reason for saving seed and treating it would be, if it is something rare and unrecoverable. Much easier to replace your seed from someone who had a clean year. The fungal diseases like Septoria Early Blight and Botrytis are not a big seedborne issue afaik. Yes the spores could be present on seeds surface, but most places they are endemic anyway or they aren't a problem because they don't like the conditions and die out. They don't normally infect little seedlings the way bacterial or viral things do. It would be great if people labeled their seeds to tell you what treatment they used. When I remembered to do it I labeled mine "fermented - UT" to let people know they were untreated except for fermenting, so if you want to bleach, do it before sowing. Sometimes I wondered if i should bleach treat seeds from unknown sources, but I didn't because it does reduce germination a bit, and if you bleached seeds that already were bleached... Another reason I didn't bleach after fermenting, there's no way the air here is not full of spores of one thing or another and no guarantee there's no spore on my fingers, so I cannot pack a guaranteed spore free seed. Impossible. Bleach it and spores will land afterwards. It just makes sense to me, to ferment or otherwise clean healthy seeds, and let people know they should bleach themselves if concerned about surface stuff.