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Before the summer season, many gardeners begin to think about preparing seeds for planting. At the same time, sometimes it is difficult to decide what is the best way to prepare them? The main mass, bought seeds by mail soaks in water or various preparations, tinctures.
Why is it necessary to soak the seeds?
Seed soaking is carried out in pursuit of several goals:
1. Some seeds have a dense shell, so it is quite difficult for them to break through, so soaking for several hours or days helps to soften the shell and allow sprouts to break through.
2. Soaking is intended to enrich the seeds with micro and macro elements, so that at the first stage of germination the plant does not lack them and grows faster and becomes stronger.
3. Treatment with special means against diseases. Often, some types of seeds are affected by diseases, especially in unsuitable conditions (when the soil and climatic conditions, the planting region provoke diseases).
Each type of soaking is carried out in a certain way and has a number of advantages and disadvantages.
Methods of processing planting material
Before preparing the seeds for processing, they are calibrated (selected for size and quality). Having chosen the best specimens, each gardener begins the processing process and chooses the most convenient method for himself:
1. Hardening is a way to increase resistance to sharp temperature changes and frost resistance in plants. To do this, the seeds are first soaked in water, a phytopreparation, a disinfectant solution for several hours. After that, take it out and lay it out on paper or cloth to drain the excess liquid. Prepared seeds are placed in fabric bags or placed in containers on sawdust (sand, peat) and placed in the refrigerator, keeping (depending on the type of plants) from 12 hours to several days. Hardening occurs when temperatures change, i.e. it is necessary to take the seeds out of the refrigerator several times, warm them up for 1-2 days and put them in the cold again.
2. Springing, sandblasting similar to hardening performs the same function, helps plants acquire resistance to temperature changes, but is performed in a slightly changed way. It is necessary for her to first soak the seeds so that they begin to germinate. Then change the temperature several times, from cold to warm (put it in the refrigerator, on ice or in snow).
3. Soaking in water or solution - this method helps to soften the shell and wake up the seeds. You can use ordinary soaking in water (cold, hot) or use disinfecting solutions of iodine, manganese and other drugs (EPIN, Fitosporin, Krezacin). They are also treated with vitamin complexes, saturating the plants at the seed stage.
4. Disinfection (etching). As a rule, most diseases are transmitted with planting material, therefore, in order to avoid such problems, many people buy treated seeds or treat ordinary ones with the help of desolvents and heat treatment.
5. Osmoprocessing is one of the newest methods, it involves treating seeds with the help of chemically inactive substances (polyethylene glycol PEG, potassium nitrate, potassium orthophosphate), which allow the seeds to swell, but not germinate. After their transfer into the soil, the seed material becomes stronger and sprouts together.
6. Bubbling is similar to soaking, when seeds are soaked in water or a solution in special bags, but at the same time a compressor is lowered to them, which enriches the water with oxygen, stimulating germination and softening of the seed coat.
7. Fermentation or incrustation - involves the processing of seeds with the help of special powders. First, they are moistened, then placed in a container with powder (disinfectants, growth stimulants, fertilizers) and shaken thoroughly. On the seeds, a shell of powder is obtained, which gradually dries, so such seeds germinate faster and hurt less.
8. Warming promotes ripening of seeds, improves germination, increases productivity. Therefore, the seeds before planting are warmed up under special lamps, in an oven, microwave or thanks to some TMTD, Tyram preparations.
Gardeners - experimenters try new methods every year, for example: electromagnetic, ultraviolet, laser and others.
Advantages and disadvantages of processing planting material
In order to fully understand the benefits of processing and whether it is harmful, it is necessary to review and record a large number of conducted experiments, but in general, the processing of planting material has more advantages than disadvantages.
Advantages:
1. It allows the seeds to wake up and soften the shell, which means that previously untreated ones will sprout.
2. Allows tempering and getting used to temperature changes.
3. Prevention of diseases at the early stage of seedlings.
Disadvantages are often caused by the human factor, imprudence or low quality seed material.
1. Rotting, if processing rules are violated.
2. The impossibility of planting seeds in the ground if the weather has changed sharply.
At the first stage of growing a healthy and strong plant, seed treatment is the most important factor in successful growth.
