What are the pre-sowing treatment methods for spinach seeds?
Spinach is a major vegetable crop in China, and its planting area in China is very large. Although spinach yields are high, there are many points we need to pay close attention to when growing it. This is especially true of the pre-sowing treatment of spinach seeds, such as seed soaking and germination. How well this is done directly affects the yield of spinach. So how should spinach seeds be treated before sowing? Let's take a look together below!
1. Selecting seeds
Spinach seeds exist in the form of utricles, and generally each fruit contains one seed. The seed coat is leathery, and although the outer layer can normally allow air through and absorb water, its inner layer is sclerenchyma tissue. Water and air basically cannot pass through it, so seed soaking and germination must be done well before sowing. Before treatment, we must first pick out impurities and some poor-quality seeds from the seeds, to avoid affecting uniform and complete emergence. Keep some large, plump seeds, and then you can prepare to soak the seeds.
2. Soaking the seeds
After selecting the seeds, prepare the soaking solution, mainly using hydrogen peroxide, mixed with water at a ratio of about 1:4, then stir it thoroughly and evenly. Then put the seeds directly into the solution; when adding the seeds, it is best to stir while adding. Let the seeds absorb water evenly and fully; if you do not stir, the spinach seeds will absorb water unevenly, and at sowing time the emergence of each seed will also differ, which has a very large impact on the overall growth of the spinach, so everyone should pay close attention.
3. Soaking time
The soaking time for the seeds is determined by temperature. If the temperature does not exceed 20°C, then the soaking time generally needs to be about two hours. If the temperature is around 25°C, then one and a half hours is enough. Similarly, if the temperature is above 30°C, then the soaking time can be shortened to about 50 minutes. This is because the higher the temperature, the greater the seed activity and the stronger the absorption capacity, so the time can be appropriately shortened. Conversely, if the temperature is too low, then the time should be appropriately extended.
4. Germination
When soaking the seeds, we can use not only hydrogen peroxide for soaking. The seeds can also be placed directly in clean water to soak for about 12 hours. After soaking, place the seeds at a temperature of about 4°C for one day, then wrap them in a wet cloth and place them at a temperature of about 25°C to germinate. If you soak the seeds with agents such as hydrogen peroxide solution or hydrogen peroxide, then when the seed coat can be seen with the naked eye, it means the soaking time is about right. The seeds can be taken out directly. Then rinse them clean with water, and likewise wrap them in a wet cloth and place them in an environment at 25°C to germinate.
The above is a brief introduction to how to treat spinach seeds before sowing. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only, and I hope it can help everyone!