RNGR.net is sponsored by the USDA Forest Service and Southern Regional Extension Forestry and is a colloborative effort between these two agencies.

U.S. Department of Agriculture USDA Forest Service Southern Regional Extension Forestry Southern Regional Extension Forestry

Skip to content. | Skip to navigation

Home → Publications → Tree Planters' Notes → Tree Planters' Notes Volume 58, Number 2 (2015) → Upgrading Seed Lots of European Silver Fir (Abies alba Mill.) Using Imbibition-Drying-Separation

Upgrading Seed Lots of European Silver Fir (Abies alba Mill.) Using Imbibition-Drying-Separation

A study was conducted to determine if imbibition-dryingseparation (IDS) would adequately remove dead, empty, and insect-infested seeds to improve seed-lot quality of European silver fir (Abies alba Mill.). The seeds were placed in water and allowed to imbibe for 48 hr, dried for 1, 2, or 5 hr, and then separated into four fractions (A–D) per drying time using an air separator. The x-ray images showed that air separation was successful. Overall, an estimated 88 percent of filled seeds were recovered in fraction A after drying for 1 hr. The germination tests confirmed that the germination capacity of the upgraded fractions was higher than the bulk seed lot. Thus, IDS can be used to improve poor-quality seed lots, which would otherwise not be commercially viable for seedling production in container nurseries.


Download this file:

PDF document Download this file — PDF document, 272Kb

Details

Author(s): Shelagh A. McCartan, Richard L. Jinks

Publication: Tree Planters' Notes - Volume 58, Number 2 (2015)

Volume: 58

Number: 2