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HARRIS MORAN SEED TECHNOLOGY |
NEWSLETTER
- 20
Odd but
True Seed Enhancement Techniques |
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Investors
and corporate decision makers are bombarded with many product
and process ideas that are described as a sure thing…the next
iPod. The idea only needs some backing, and it will make
millions of dollars. Most new product or process ideas do not
pay off, and picking that one winning idea, before it’s a
winner, can be difficult.
Many ideas, few successes
Odds of a “sure bet” idea actually living up to it’s hype can be
1 out of 100, with some putting the odds as high as 1 in a 1000.
It takes skill, with some luck I think, to sift through the 100
product and process ideas and pick the one idea that will be
successful. It took Chester Carlson 8 years to find someone
interested in investing in his invention…the copying machine.
Even IBM and the U.S. Army Signal Corps didn’t think the copying
machine was an idea that would take off. What seems like a “no
brainer” now, wasn’t such a clear choice at the time the
invention was presented. New ideas, new inventions, and new
approaches seem odd to those that are used to doing things in a
certain way. Yes, even new approaches in the Seed Industry can
seem odd, but those odd ideas, may be tomorrow’s breakthrough
technologies. Here’re a couple of older unconventional
techniques that have come across my desk over the years.
The Seed that Bounces the Highest is the best
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Contrary to what the cartoon
suggests, separating seed by its bounce was a serious idea
developed in an Israeli business incubator about 10 years ago.
The process is based on the principal of seed elasticity. The
creators claim that seed with the most elasticity is the most
likely to germinate properly with the highest vigor. The seed
with the most elasticity, bounces the highest. Their product was
a machine that separated the seed according to how high it would
bounce. The machine was intended to be used in conjunction with
conventional seed cleaning separation techniques.
Smoking Out Seed Dormancy
It’s been known for several years that fire and smoke can break
dormancy in certain types of seed in the wild. People have tried
storing seed in smoke filled containers before planting in order
to break dormancy, but the methods were tedious at best. A
company out of Australia decided to sell smoke in the form of
smoke impregnated absorbent paper. The absorbent paper is
impregnated with smoke-saturated water and then dried. The
active compounds in the smoke remained on the paper and were
said to remain potent for at least 6 months if stored in sealed
polyethylene bags in the refrigerator. A day before you’re ready
to plant, add water to the smoke-saturated germination paper and
let the seed imbibe the liquid from the paper for 24 hours.
Dormancy is said to be broken after the 24 hour period and the
seed will germinate normally when planted in the soil or
greenhouse tray.
Here’s a couple of
technologies that people are currently talking about.
Seed Separation by Chlorophyll Fluorescence
Harvesting seed that is totally and uniformly mature is rare.
Seed within a lot that has not reached full maturity will most
likely be less vigorous or not able to germinate at all. Many
times these fully developed, but not quite mature seeds are
impossible to separate using normal density, size or shape
separations. Chlorophyll fluorescence measures the amount of
green chlorophyll present in each seed. The more chlorophyll the
seed has, the more immature and less vigorous the seed.
Commercial separation would occur much like a normal color
sorter (see SeedTech article 12)
(http://www.harrismoran.com/technology/newsletters/12.htm ),
with the seed individually passing through a chlorophyll sensing
beam of light. When the seed chlorophyll levels are too high, a
burst of air would separate the immature seed from the rest.
This process is not commercialized at this time, but prototypes
are currently being developed.
Near-Infrared (NIR) Separations
This technology is currently available to the seed industry, but
new uses continue to be explored. Near-Infrared light shoots
through the seed and gives off a signal that is linked to the
internal components of the seed, which are related to seed vigor
and germination. So…you can separate low vigor and dead seed
according to the type of NIR signal that is given off. In
addition to that, seed that is contaminated with fungal
pathogens will give off a unique NIR signal and can be used to
separate seed with fungal contamination. NIR signals have also
been used to separate hybrid watermelon seed from inbred seed,
and as a method to determine the length of time needed to prime
seed for optimal results. (see
SeedTech article 4).
That’s it for now.
See you next time when we discuss “Organic seed and seed
treatments... A new challenge “
Keith
k.kubik@hmclause.com
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