This is a public-interest archive. Personal data is pseudonymized and retained under GDPR Article 89.

Re: Seed Scarification

     It appears that any of the enzyme products for drains, and/or holding
tanks that state that they dissolve paper, and are are solids (not liquids)
will work. You still have to let many of the seeds set at a cool
temperature (several weeks to two months) to destroy the inhibitor abscisic
acid.  
   Last winter I did further tests with both the Drain Care and the
bromelain to see if I could leave the seeds in containers with the enzymes
present in the water until they germinated.  The seeds were sitting on top
of synthetic cloth that was wetted by the enzyme solution.  The Drain Care
sample had zero germination (I assume the continued exposure to the enzyme
killed the seeds).  The bromelain sample had very good germination.
             IMPROVEMENT OF ROSE GERMINATION WITH HOUSEHOLD ENZYMES
by Dr. Henry Kuska. Originally published in the "Rose Hybridizers
Association Newsletter",Vol 25, spring 1994, pages 7-9. The original
article included a graph of the number germinated versus days after
treatment.  Germination started on day five.
        INTRODUCTION. In a recent article Yambe, Takeno, and Saito(1)
reported that the time required to germinate rose seeds could be greatly
shortened by soaking the seeds first in macerating enzymes. The enzymes
used were commercial enzymes that are normally available only to research
laboratories. In this paper I have investigated the suitability of commonly
available household enzyme preparations for enhancing rose seed
germination.
     METHOD USED.  Commercial Angel rose seeds (Rosa X rehderiana) were
obtained from Park Seed Company(2). The seeds are order number 1789-1 in
their 1994 catalogue. In their table of germination times, a time of 50
days (+/-25%) was given. A footnote stated that they may take longer.  Each
test batch consisted of twenty five seeds. The seeds were soaked in a
solution of the enzyme dissolved in 150 ml (about a half cup or 5 oz) of
tap water for 40 hours. The solutions were kept in closed plastic
containers out of direct sunlight during the soak. The containers were
opened several times a day and the solutions swirled. The seeds were then
washed several times with tap water and placed in plastic containers on
coffee filters which were in contact with wet captan(3) treated sand. The
containers were covered and placed out of direct sunlight at room
temperature.  The covers were removed daily to check for germination. The
data are for a 33 day period. In addition to the household enzyme
solutions, one solution contained one of the commercial enzymes, driselase,
used by Yambe et. al. and one solution was a tap water blank. 
     RESULTS. The number of seedlings found are: 14 for the driselase(4)
solution, 12 for Enforcer Drain Care(5), 9 for Bromelain digestive aid(6),
6 for ReNu, Effervescent Enzymatic Cleaner for Soft Contact Lenses(7), 6
for Acidophilus with pectin digestive aid(8), 5 for Drain Solution(9), 5
for Pancreatin digestive aid(10), 4 for Papaya digestive aid(11), 4 for
Beno digestive aid(12), 3 for Drano(13), 3 for the tap water blank, and 1
for Natural Brand Enzyme digestive aid(14). The time data for the three
best enzymes and the blank are given in Figure 1.
     DISCUSSION. The results indicate that there are household enzymes that
can be used to significantly increase the rate of rose seed germination.
Since only 25 seeds were used in each batch, the differences between near
neighbors in the above list cannot be considered as meaningful. Also, the
optimum time and concentration for each enzyme were not determined.   Some
of the poorly performing tested enzymes may be suitable at different
concentrations and/or soak periods.
     REFERENCES AND FOOTNOTES.
     (1). Yambe,Y., Takeno, K., and Saito, S., HortScience, 27,
1018-1020,(1992).
     (2). Park Seed Company, Cokesbury Road, Greenwood, SC, 29647-0001.
     (3). Captan, a fungicide produced by Bonide Products Inc. Yorkville,
N.Y. 13495.
     (4). Driselase, one teaspoon was used. Sigma Chemical Company, P.O.
Box 14508, St. Louis, MO 63178-9916.
     (5). Enforcer Drain Care, one teaspoon was used. Product Code # DC-10,
Formula Code DC-01-0692. Active ingredients: Bacteria culture, enzymes:
amylase, lipase, protease, and cellulase. Enforcer Products, Inc., P.O. Box
1068, Cartersville, GA 30120.
     (6). Bromelain, two 100mg tablets were used. A protein digesting
pineapple enzyme. Triage Pharmaceuticals Inc., New York, New York, 10001.
     (7). ReNu, Effervescent Enzymatic Cleaner for Soft Contact Lenses, Two
tablets were used. The enzyme is subtilisin a proteolytic enzyme. Bausch
and Lomb, Personal Products Division, Rochester, New York 14692-0450.
     (8). Acidophilus with pectin, three tablets were used. Each tablet
contained a minimum of one million cells of acidophilus and 100mg of
pectin. Triage Pharmaceuticals, Inc., New York, New York 10001.
     (9). Drain Solution, one teaspoon was used. Exclusive bioactive,
enzyme fortified formula.  Stock Number 5110, Cul-Mac Industries Inc.,
Wayne, Michigan.
     (10). Pancreatin, three tablets were used. Each tablet contains 350mg
of 4Xpancreatin and will digest 49gm fat, 35gm protein, and 35gm of starch.
 Kal Inc, Woodland Hills, CA 91365.
     (11). Papaya Enzyme, three tablets were used.  Each tablet contains
10mg papaya.  Approved Pharmaceutical Corp., Syracuse, New York 13217.
     (12). Drano Build-up Remover, Drain Cleaner, used one teaspoon. It
contains bacterial cultures, surfactants, and natural enzymes. S. C.
Johnson and Son, Inc., Racine, WI 53403.
     (13). Beano, 8 drops were used. It contains sorbitol and
alphagalactosidase enzyme. AkPharma Inc., P. O. Box 111, Pleasantville, NJ
08232.
     (14). Natural Brand Enzyme Tablet, one tablet was used. Each tablet
contains pancreatin 400mg, alpha amylase 130mg, betaine hydrochloride 65mg,
pepsin 65mg, papain 65mg, and iron ox bile 65mg.  Natural Sales Company,
Pittsburgh, PA 15230.


Henry Kuska KUSKA@NEO.LRUN.COM
 ----
From: THOMPSONF@aol.com
To: seeds-list@eskimo.com
Date: Tuesday, June 17, 1997 1:01 PM
Subject: Seed Scarification

>I have lupine seeds that will germinate if scarified. Is there an easy way
to
>do this? Chemical scarification? Rubbing each seed on sandpaper is
difficult.
>So is drilling a hole in each seed.
>Fred in Walnut Creek
>
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index