Is fluid seeding for you?
HERSHEY - Fluid seeding is a
relatively new technique whereby
seed is mixed in a gel carrier and
pumped through a planter into a
furrow in the soil, reports Donald
R Daum, Extension Agricultural
Engineer, Penn State.
J.G. Elliott, from the Weed
Research Organization near
Oxford, England, is given credit
for originating the concept in 1963
Research was started at the
National Vegetable Research
Station in England during the early
1970’5. Since then research has
been conducted in Canada as well
as the United States
The gel and equipment is now
commercially available and is m
limited use.
Fluid seeding of pre-germinated
seeds (known as chitted seeds in
England) involves several steps
seed germination in controlled
optimum environmental con
ditions, mixing selected ger
minated seeds with a gel media to
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protect and suspend the seeds for
distribution, sowing the seeds and
gel with a specialized fluid seeder
“Nearly all experience in fluid
seeding to date is with vegetables
because the research was done by
people working with vegetables
and the greatest advantages ap
pear to be with vegetables,” says
Daum
Some of the advantages of fluid
seeding include:
—Quicker seedling emergence -
four days after planting preger
minated tomato, lettuce,
cucumber, cabbage, and okra
seeds in 75°F soil, over 90 percent
of the plants were up compared to
30 percent for lettuce, 5 percent for
cabbage, and no emergence for the
other dry sown seeds;
—Uniform emergence
pregermmating overcomes the
problem of germinating seed in
soil, especially in cool tem
peratures Also, pregenmnated
on new Case 4-WD’s
seeds can be separated from
nongemunatmg seeds prior to
planting, so only viable seeds are
planted;
—Earlier harvest - the quick
emergence leads to faster
development and maturity
However, the time interval
decreases considerably from
emergence to harvest,
—lncreased yield - many crops
show an increased yield over dry
sown seeds Tomatoes produced
15.7 tons/acre compared to 9.6
tons/acre for conventional
seeding; the transplanted crop
yielded 18 tons/acre. Carrots
showed an 18 percent increase and
onions produced 10 percent more
weight. Most of these increases are
due to unpt o\ ed stands,
—Cheaper and quicker tran
splants - by sowing pregenmnated
seeds the transplants can be grown
at lower temperature, saving
energy; in some cases plants can
be grown outside in plastic tun-
m
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 14,1981—C17
nels; and
—Additives can be used -
presently, research is active in this
area, possiblities include
pesticides, growth regulations,
nutrients, and soil amendments
Disadvantages are.
—Frost damage - the seedlings
may emerge so quickly that frost
may damage them with early
planting;
—Seeds killed - if too much gel is
used, seeds may die before they
emerge from the gel from lack of
oxygen;
—Gel mixing problems - high pH
or hard water causes problems in
mixing the powder and liquid to
form the gel. Distilled water
required in some cases;
—Seed committed to grow - once
seed is imbibed (soaked) or
pregerminated it is committed to
growing Such seed can be held up
to two weeks by keeping it moist
and cool (40°F.) However, once
the seed is mixed in the gel it can
be held only 3 to 4 days without
major loss of viability;
—Germination time and
equipment - time to pregermmate
the seed vanes from 24 hours to
three days for tomatoes to seven
days for celery The seed must be
held at the temperature ap
propriate for the species and
rinsed every 12 hours to remove a
naturally produced growth
inhibitor; and
—Requires specialized planting
equipment - the planter must have
a pump that will deliver the
desired quantity of the gel-seed
mix without damaging the radicles
(roots) A special dispenser is
necessary for single seed planting
Fluid seeders are commercially
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■ Very Nice Phone Shanty ■ 24” Wood Planer with 2 sets of
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available and are in use in Ohio
and California. These planters are
manufactured in Canada and
England.
For field operation, the planting
units are tool-bar mounted with
attachments available to plant
through plastic mulch and to place
anti-crustant material over the
seed. Lightweight push units are
available for the home gardener or
hobby farmer Fluid seeders are
also available for planting single
seeds into soilless blocks for
growing transplants
“More field research is needed
to determine .feasibility under
Pennsylvania conditions,” con
cedes Daum “The technique
shows real promise for hard to
establish crops, earlier and more
uniform emergence, and increased
yields. We should at least ex
periment with fluid seeding. It
may be a golden egg for vegetable
growers.”
flour and knead until smooth
Place in greased bowl to double in
bulk
Punch down doughs and divide in
half Shape each portion into 15
mch rope For each braid, place a
rope of whole wheat, rye, and
white on a greased cookie sheet
braid loosely and pinch ends to
seal. Cover lightly and let rise 1
hour or until doubled in bulk
Brush loaves with egg yolk wash
(1 egg yoke beaten with 1 tbsp
water) Bake at 350° for 35 minutes
or until well browned Transfer to 2
V racks to cool.
Braided Pan Loaves - Prepare as
directed but divide each dough into
4 pieces. Roll into 11-mch ropes.
Braid loosely 3 ropes and pinch
ends to seal. Place dough into
greased x BV2 inch loaf pan.
Cover and let rise to double. Brush
with egg yolk. Bake 350° for 25-30
minutes. Put on rack to cool.'
DA
B
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UMPS
Bread Baking
(Continued from Page Cl 6)
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