Seed Germination - Deno Method - GRS, et al

[George R Stilwell, Jr.]

Duncan,

Not a weird method at all. Except for the agar and petri dishes it's the
same as the Norman Deno method.

He just uses small plastic bags and goes directly to the 6 pack once the
radicle emerges. Works great and saves even more space.

Using this method, A. sikokianum usually germinate (70F) at the rate 33%
in 11 days, 75% in 14 days, and 100% in 17 days.

Ray
GRSJr at Juno.com

On Sun, 24 Nov 1996, John Grimshaw wrote:
> Do you not have to take precautions to ensure surface sterility of the
> seeds when using agar media in this way?

The process I described, wherein radicles emerge on damp paper and then
are pushed into agar, does not involve nutrient agar--just plain old agar
gel without additional minerals, etc.  The seed remain on/in agar only
until coyledons develop, usually less than a week, so I haven't had
problems with contamination of the agar.  Sterilization would be simple
enough anyway:  simply boil the agar solution.

In any case, I subscribe to Deno's theory that seed that become
mold-infested are dead, dead, dead.  In the petri dish, while on paper,
some seed will become covered with fungus while others remain clear of
it;
those that haven't molded usually germinate just fine and develop into
healthy plants.

Donna Maroni
dmaroni at email.unc.edu