Problem with mould on Trachycarpus seeds

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Adam r
Posts: 58
Joined: Fri Apr 20, 2012 7:05 pm
Location: Sunderland

Problem with mould on Trachycarpus seeds

Post by Adam r »

I need some advice before all of my Trachycarpus seeds die from rot. I've been using the food carton/kitchen roll method which I came across on this site for dates. I have used the method for nainital and have 4 seedlings from 6 seeds which I thought was good but I'm trying to grow seeds that I collected from a caravan site in Norfolk, some more nainital and some takil seeds. The former 2 seem to go mouldy when they germinate but the takil seeds are covered in little green spots of mould and white fluffy mould.
Is there anything I can do to kill the mould but not the seed?
Can I sterilise them with Milton sterilising tablets for baby's bottles before they germinate or will it kill the seed?
Adam r
Posts: 58
Joined: Fri Apr 20, 2012 7:05 pm
Location: Sunderland

Re: Problem with mould on Trachycarpus seeds

Post by Adam r »

I cleaned my takil seeds of all mould and scraped them a bit more then put them in Milton sterilising solution for between 5 and 10 minutes then rinsed them and also sterilised the container and used fresh kitchen roll. When I checked the seeds today, one of them had started to sprout so hopefully non of them have been damaged by the sterilising.
jungle jas

Re: Problem with mould on Trachycarpus seeds

Post by jungle jas »

I use a copper based fungicide on my palm seeds Which doesn't seem to hurt them.
Half Hardy

Re: Problem with mould on Trachycarpus seeds

Post by Half Hardy »

I wear contact lenses,I have often wondered if I could use,the cleaning solution to sterilise seeds.If it's good enough for my eyes,I can't imagine it being a problem for seeds.Anybody tried it?
Conifers
Posts: 13147
Joined: Sat Jun 20, 2009 2:11 pm
Location: Northumbs

Re: Problem with mould on Trachycarpus seeds

Post by Conifers »

Half Hardy wrote:I wear contact lenses,I have often wondered if I could use,the cleaning solution to sterilise seeds.If it's good enough for my eyes,I can't imagine it being a problem for seeds.Anybody tried it?
Not a good idea, it is aimed at very specific, and different, disease organisms.
Vagetarian

Re: Problem with mould on Trachycarpus seeds

Post by Vagetarian »

I disinfect seeds but still get fungus. You have to be incredibly lucky not to get some spores in there in between disinfecting and putting them in the planting medium, the spores are in the air continuously, unless you have some kind of HEPA filtration. :lol:

So, it's probably a very good idea to use a powdered fungicide at the time of sowing.
fgtbell

Re: Problem with mould on Trachycarpus seeds

Post by fgtbell »

Hydrogen peroxide is pretty good at removing mould. Probably best between 1.5% and 3% strength. You can buy it on ebay. Bizarrely, I've had seeds actually germinate in the peroxide, though not Trachycarpus.
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