Cracked AG Seeds
- To: pumpkins@mallorn.com
- Subject: Cracked AG Seeds
- From: H* E* P*
- Date: Wed, 28 Apr 1999 07:06:02 -0700
One often reads of a beginner worried that he got cracked AG seeds.
One often reads mentors assuring everyone that cracks seem to have no
effect on germination.
When you examine a tan AG seed or the the hull discarded by a seedling
under 5X to 15X magnification, the answer is easily seen. Recall from my
seed diagram http://www.disknet.com/indiana_biolab/seed2.gif that the
tan colored layer is merely tiny fibers standing on end.
The cracks are merely shrinkage cracks caused by drying of the fibers
and have no effect on the the drying of the seed or oxidation of the
storage oils in the cotyledons. The cracks are merely spaces between
normal fibers. Below such cracks, Layers B (compact pith), Layer C
(resin saturated cells(?), Layer D (cushioning pith), and the two
membranes are all intact.
A wet hull discarded by a seedling is an excellent specimen to examine
to see these fibers. I can't recall ever seeing a seed so complex as the
AG seed.
--
Harold Eddleman Ph.D. Microbiologist. i*@disknet.com
Location: Palmyra IN USA; 36 kilometers west of Louisville, Kentucky
http://www.disknet.com/indiana_biolab/pk.htm
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