Horitculture

Lab 2

Tending to seeds before planting

Seeds can be soaked in a Clorox (1 part Clorox 4 part water) for about a min or 2, to increase germination of seed and cleaning the outside of the seed wall by destroying harmful fungi.

When soaking in Clorox make sure to rinse with water and repeat about 3-4 times.

Clorox also helps control the mold if you are growing a plant outside.

By peeling off the seed coating and making a small incision in the seed before planting it can help sprouting occur from the seedling.

When planting a seed in soil, only plant the seed in a hole that is about the same depth as the seed itself. If the seed is ½ inch in length plant it about 1 inch in the soil.

Hardness of seeds and pits

The Corn seed is not hard at all. It is very fragile and can be crushed with very little force. Grasping the seed with pliers can crush the seed in pieces if it the seed is not handled delicately. It is recommended to use a razor to open it.

However, the Phoenix dactylifera (Date) pit has an extremely hard seed coating. Grasping it with pliers and using my full force on the pit could not crack it open.

The lima bean had a semi-durable seed coating. It was not tough to open up if you are using a razor blade to cut the bean open. If you soak the lima bean in water, for about 24 hours, its seed coating will be very fragile and easier to open up.

The sunflower seed has a durable seed coating but can be easily opened with pliers or even a person’s teeth.

Inside a Seed

The lima bean has two cotyledons with an embryo and leaf on of them.

The corn seed is fused with the cell wall. When the corn seed is opened we see that it has a white color while the rest of the cell wall has a yellow color. Corn seeds have one cotyledon.

Sunflower seeds have two cotyledons and as well as a seed coating surrounding them. The sunflower seed has a seed coating surrounding the cotyledons

The raspberry is composed of small fruits called drupelets. Each drupelet on a...