Effects of Temperature and Moisture Content on the Storability of Hardwoods Seeds

Abstract

Experimental results have been inconclusive about low temperature storage of recalcitrant seeds from temperate zone trees. Experiments were conducted on four species of oak - chinkapin (Quercus muehlenbergii Engelm.), water (Quercus nigra L.), Shumard (Quercus shumardii Buckl.), and northern red (Quercus rubra L.). Storage temperatures were -1.5 DC and 3 DC, and lengths of storage were 1, 2, and 3 years. Seeds, stored both hydrated and dried, had moisture contents ranging from 23 to 45 percent. Chinkapin acorns did not survive past 1 year in storage, and few northern red acorns were viable after 3 years. Both water oak and Shumard acorns survived at high and low moisture contents; however, Shumard acorns lost 2/3 of their viability by year 3 with best survival rates at -1.5 DC, while water oak survival was over 75 percent after three years storage at 3 DC. Presprouting occurred in all species. Additional investigations have begun on white oak (Quercus alba L.), swamp chestnut oak (Quercus michauxii L.), and red buckeye (Aesculus pavia L.). Differences are known to exist in the degree of recalcitrance in seeds, and these studies will determine if some recalcitrant seeds are more amenable to storage than others.

Citation

Connor, Kristina F.; Bonner, Franklin T. 1999. Effects of Temperature and Moisture Content on the Storability of Hardwoods Seeds. In: Proceedings of the Tenth Biennial Southern Silviculture Research Conference. Asheville, NC: USDA-Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 123-126.