Re: Cactus fruit

A while ago I asked about the best way to harvest seed from a cactus that

. . .

TIA
Gunnar
Gunnar,
I did the same thing you are trying with Cereus peruvianus fruit (a strong resemblance to your photos) and got about half the seeds to germinate without any extraordinary measures. I don't have a place to keep conditions just right for seedlings but I still have year old plants doing well. If you mash the fruit pulp and let the smear sit a few days, kept moist, the biological breakdown of the tissue begins and will release the seeds more easily. Then washing in a fine strainer will clean them nicely. I planted mine very soon after removal from the fruit.
You might divide your seeds into smaller lots and try different treatments to compare germination. Your idea of acid treatment is a good start; force some across a fine grade sand paper to abrade the seed coat; a bit of heat may be useful; anything which might reproduce natural processes. But even if you don't you will probably end up with more plants than you need. Look for information appropriate to the plants indigenous region. Altitude, temperature, available moisture at fruit ripening, sunlight conditions at the site of "planting " by the birds or mammals (bird droppings would fall to the ground under a canopy tree or shrub). etc, etc.

Have fun
Xavier Flores
Davis, CA

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