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Home → Publications → Tree Planters' Notes → Tree Planters' Notes Volume 60, Number 2 (2017) → Seed Moisture Content, Relative Humidity, and Better Storage of Longleaf Pine Seed

Seed Moisture Content, Relative Humidity, and Better Storage of Longleaf Pine Seed

The science for preserving the germination of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) has long been known. In practice, however, the germination of longleaf pine seeds after 1 to 5 years of storage is disappointingly low, resulting in significant financial losses and threatening an already precarious seed supply that is needed for restoration and reforestation. This article discusses the relationship between seed moisture and relative humidity and how that relationship indicates ways to improve the handling of longleaf pine seeds so that germination is maintained in storage. Emphasis is placed on using equilibrium relative humidity testing as a way to improve seed longevity. This paper was presented at the Joint Meeting of the Northeast Forest and Conservation Nursery Association and Southern Forest Nursery Association (Lake Charles, LA, July 18–21, 2016).


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Author(s): Robert P. Karrfalt

Publication: Tree Planters' Notes - Volume 60, Number 2 (2017)

Event: Joint Meeting of the Northeast Forest and Conservation Nursery Association and Southern Forest Nursery Association
2016 - Lake Charles, Louisiana

Volume: 60

Number: 2