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Picton,ON (j.vincent@xplornet.ca)

When we opened our big squash this fall (995.5 Vincent 07=848 Mackenzie*x 898 Vincent*) Most of the seeds were stained charcoal black with some type of mold. We cleaned up about half of them that were the best looking. Some are still slightly discoloured. I put the rest in a container in the basement fridge to deal with later. They are still there. I just looked at them and they have not detereorated at all.
Has anyone had any experiance cleaning seeds like this? I think they are viable at this point. I really like the cross and would like to send these seeds out. I am hoping to find some way to clean/bleach thwm without herting the viability. I was going to try a few experiments with things like orthophosphoric acid (CLR).
Amny thoughts / experiance with this would be greatly appreciated
John

11/17/2007 11:05:57 AM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

John,

It sounds like air got into the cavity which permitted the mold to grow. Molds stain in many colors..blue, red, yellow, black, etc.

I would have soaked & washed them in a cold 10% bleach straight away then dried them (not cold) for 3 weeks. Next step would be a germination trial.

Generally speaking, if some of the mold color stays visible on the seed cat it will only be the grower who gets worried. If the embryo is healthy it'll grow.

11/17/2007 10:42:29 PM

Picton,ON (j.vincent@xplornet.ca)

Steve
Thanks for the reply. I was worried about soaking them for any length of time for fear of the solution penitrating the seed coat. The ones I cleaned up, I washed individually in anti-bacterial soap, scrubbing each seed with a scouring pad. I did up about 150 seeds this way. It took about 2 hrs. By that time, my fingers were sore...lol
Yes, I guess I should have, could have done more with them 3 weeks ago. I am going to try some experiments with various solutions and dry the rest out, then do some germs and see what happens

11/18/2007 7:16:07 AM

Danville, CA (petman2@yahoo.com)

Remember too that in the "wild" pumpkins just rot out in the field and sprout again the following spring. I am guessing those seeds look much worse than yours. My neighbor also had a bunch of "moldy" seeds that he washed off and dried and they germinated very well as well. I wouldn't worry about it.

12/7/2007 12:27:27 AM

Macomb County

read about PM at http://www.bigporchpumpkins.com/

4/3/2008 2:48:22 AM