Key Points of Vegetable Seed Soaking Techniques and How to Select Seeds

Vegetables are one of the foods we cannot do without in our daily lives. Eating a certain amount of vegetables and fruits every day is good for human health. There are many varieties of vegetables, and some are propagated by seed. To improve the germination rate of vegetables, seeds are soaked and pre-germinated in advance. Let's take a look below at what are the key points of vegetable seed soaking techniques? How do you select good seeds?

1. What are the key points of vegetable seed soaking techniques?

1. Seed selection

Be sure to select seeds that are plump, uniform in size and high in purity, and remove soil and impurities from the seeds, so as to avoid affecting germination or causing seed rot.

2. Disinfection

Dry heat disinfection method. This is mostly used for tomatoes. First sun-dry the seeds so that the moisture content is below 7%, then place them in an oven at 70-73°C and bake for 4 days. After removing them, pre-germinate them. This can prevent and control tomato canker and viral diseases.

Warm water seed soaking method. Place the seeds in hot water at 60°C and soak for 10-15 minutes, stirring while soaking. When the water temperature drops to 30°C, stop stirring and continue soaking for 3-4 hours. Remove, air-dry and pre-germinate. This can reduce seedling-stage diseases.

3. Medicinal solution soaking method. Generally, a 100-fold formalin solution is commonly used. First soak the seeds in clean water for 3-4 hours, then place them in the medicinal solution and soak for 20 minutes. Remove and rinse clean with water before pre-germinating. For cucumber seeds, soak in water for 2 hours and in the medicinal solution for 30 minutes. This method can prevent and control tomato early blight, eggplant brown spot disease, cucumber anthracnose, fusarium wilt, and so on. Different medicinal solutions can also be used for seed soaking according to the different diseases to be prevented and controlled.

3. Seed soaking

Seeds must be soaked before pre-germination, but the soaking time should not be too long. According to tests, soaking cucumbers for 1-2 hours, and peppers, eggplants and tomatoes for 3-4 hours is more suitable (including the water soaking time during seed disinfection treatment).

4. Pre-germination

Drain the water from the soaked seeds, wrap them well in gauze with good air permeability, and make sure the seeds are kept loose and not pressed too tightly. During pre-germination, if the seeds become dry, they can be rinsed with clean water.

After pre-germination, once the seeds sprout and show white, they can be sown. If the temperature and humidity are not suitable, you can wait until the sprouts grow to 2-3 mm before sowing. If the seeds have already sprouted but cannot be sown in time, you can store the seeds at around 5°C for several days, taking care to prevent freezing and drying.

2. How do you select good vegetable seeds?

First, check whether the basic contents on the label are complete, including crop type, seed category, and variety name; seed producer and operator information, including the name of the seed producer and operator, seed production and operation license number, registered address and contact information; quantity index and net content; testing date and quality guarantee period; suitable planting regions and planting seasons for the variety; quarantine certificate number; and information code. Second, also pay attention to whether the seed packaging is rather old. If the packaging is rather old, it may be old seeds, so special attention should be paid when purchasing.