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Storage of Water Tupelo Seeds

Water tupelo seeds can be stored for at least 30 months without significant losses in viability. Moisture contents of 20 percent or lower and polyethylene bags with. walls 4 mils thick gave the best results at 38°F. At 14°F. seed moisture must be below 10 percent. Interest in tree planting on swamplands of the Gulf Coastal Plain has raised questions about seed characteristics of swamp species like water tupelo (Nyssa aquatica L.) This note reports satisfactory methods for storing water tupelo seeds for several years. This information is needed because forest tent caterpillars (Malacosoma disstria Hubner) occasionally destroy tupelo flowers, making seed crops unpredictable. The Woody-Plant Seed Manual2 recommends cold stratification in moist sand for overwinter storage, but gives no methods for retaining viability for 3 to 5 years. Recommendations presented here are based on studies of water tupelo seeds from two geographic sources stored under several combinations of temperature, seed moisture content, and container type.


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Author(s): Franklin T. Bonner, H. E. Kennedy

Publication: Tree Planters' Notes - Volume 24, Number 3 (1973)

Volume: 24

Number: 3