Does Fermenting OP ‘Westerland’ Seeds in Tomato Pulp Affect their Germination?
50 OP ‘Westerland’ seeds, from Paul via Don, were placed into tomato pulp (home grown ‘Beefeater’ tomatoes) for 2 weeks and then were stratified in moist peat in the fridge. 50 OP ‘Westerland’ seeds that were not fermented in tomato pulp for 2 weeks were stratified in moist peat in the same way as the first. When the first seed began to germinate, which happened to be in the non-treated sample, all seeds were sown in the same tray, divided down the middle. Today, there has been only 2 germinations in the non-treated seeds and there has been 22 germinations in the tomato-treated seeds. Treated seeds are still germinating whilst there has been no germinations in the non-treated side for some time. So far that’s 4% germination success with the non-treated and 44% germination success for the treated.
This is what these seeds looked like after two weeks in the tomato pulp:
Experiment two:
Does a Longer Fermentation Period Affect the Germination of OP ‘Don Juan’ Seeds?
Buoyed by the results of the first experiment I wondered what would happen if you left them in a little longer. A friend of mine, Bruce Treloar, sent me some OP seeds of ‘Don Juan’. They look like big, hard, woody seeds and these are the ones that have most trouble germinating so I thought I’d try these seeds in tomato pulp as well. I soaked them in tomato pulp for three weeks and on removing them today they look like this:
I should have taken before photos to show the difference, but I think you get the idea from the one remaing seed with only a little bit of the pericarp remaining. Looking forward to seeing how these guys go. They look like they’ve been sand blasted!!!
Don, what role, if any, does the pericarp play in germination? I also noted that the wood achene itself seems to have been eaten away and polished smooth. You can hardly even determine where the suture line is now.
what role, if any, does the pericarp [exocarp?] play in germination?
Damned if I know. Really, it’s one of those not-so-sure things. Current dogma says that the pericarp makes and stores ABA but personally I think that that is the result of sloppy sampling technique. My take is that the pericarps are strictly mechanical barriers to water and air, and a sort of egg-crate for the embryo.
So now the questions are: what is in tomato pulp that dissolved whatever it dissolved from the pericarps and did the pulp contribute anything (chemically) to induce germination (that is, besides removing part of a mechanical barrier to air and water).
I am assuming that the grand design is to be able to survive the digestive acids, as well as ammonias with the feces, from the birds that would eat the hips and seeds. I am also assuming that the guardian layer, if you will, is intended to be time-released when conditions are the most suitable, which is obviously Spring.
" Utilization of Tomato Seeds Isolated from Processing Waste for Enzyme Production Using Aspergillus niger
Sogi, DS | Gupta, U | Garg, SK | Bawa, AS
Journal of Food Science and Technology (Mysore) [J. Food Sci. Technol. (Mysore)]. Vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 207-210. Mar-Apr 2004.
Deoiled seed meal (20%) slurry from tomato processing waste was fermented by Aspergillus niger for enzyme production at 34-36 degree C for 4-7 days. Biomass yield was maximum on 6th day of incubation. The highest activities of filter paper cellulase assay for UG-1 and NRRL strain were 2.03 and 1.67 on 4th day whereas that of carboxymethyl cellulase (CMC) 0.33 and 0.97 E.U. on 5th and 6th day of incubation, respectively. The maximum pectinase activity of 0.89 and 0.84 for UG-1 and NRRL strains were observed on 4th and 5th day while lipase activity was 0.26 and 0.55 E.U on 6th day of incubation, respectively. "
this tomatoe pulp seems to work better than the EM1 stuff but in a similar way.See link below.
I remember also this article where compost activator has been used.
Unheated tomatos have also a great pectinase activity.In the industrial processing of tomatoe paste, therefore a special process is designed, called ‘hot break processing’, to inactivate the enzym by heat and keep a maximum of pectin in the paste.
Maybe both work, the enzymes of the fruit and the the enzymes produced by the micro flora.
Hey Bernhard… I’ve read that article before and was hoping to make some time to test it out as well… I ran out time (of course) and my bokashi compost activator sat on the fridge and died on me… oh well… bring on the Christmas holidays!!!
Some authors use epicarp for the outer layer. Zielinski, who described the stomates on achenes uses the term exocarp. It may mean rind in a melon so yes it is the skin. But if you look at the evolution of rose achene anatomy, (published somewhere theoretical) they used to be exogenous seeds and the outer covering would be the exocarp. I guess it is derived from something leaf-like. I wonder if the stomates are actually in this exo layer and disappear when you digest it away with enzymes.
Carp means fruit (in plant latin), genous means generated/produced/created, and peri means around.
exogenous. exocarp. pericarp… oi vey.
I dont know but it seem like the combined latin terminology is a bit like splitting hairs, lol. I’d be more concerned if we were surgeons
It would be nice if a universally accepted chart was created though – but the accepted part is going to be tough. I’d hate to even be in the same room with more than one botanist, for example. I’d REALLY hate to be in the same room with botanists from different cultures, LOL!
