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Friday, May 27, 2011

Question: Irradiated Fruit Seeds

Hey everyone. I was wondering if anyone else has tried germinating seeds from irradiated fruit. I've heard that often many of the seeds won't sprout, but this doesn't mean that none will sprout. I figured the more seeds I try the more likely I am to get a sprout.

Has anyone had luck germinating seeds from tropical or imported fruits? I'm currently experimenting with papaya, tamarind, starfruit, longan, cherimoya, sweetsop and sapote. Next I'll try passion fruit. I've had papaya sprout (started weeks before the others) and they're currently starting to put out their second leaves.
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4 comments:

  1. ThomasMay 28, 2011 at 3:22 AM

    In the last few years (~5?) I've sprouted mango, kumquat, litchi. ~20 years ago I grew a starfruit tree, I don't know if fruit was being irradiated back then. I'd like to try tamarind. If you want to try kiwi, I learned that seed fresh from the fruit sprouts fairly quickly, but if you let the seed dry you will need to stratify and expose it to cold to break the dormancy. Good luck.

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  2. UnknownMay 28, 2011 at 9:14 AM

    Good to know. My litchis are bursting open as are the taramind. I got the jackfruit from my father and the seed had dried for almost a month. They should be planted immediately so I figure it won't make it. I should try kiwi next!

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  3. ellieTMay 29, 2011 at 10:35 AM

    i bought taro/eddoe from the indian grocer for 40 cents rather than paying a garden centre $10 for an "elephant ear" bulb - it's sending out a bunch of leaf sprouts now!

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  4. UnknownMay 29, 2011 at 4:52 PM

    I've been thinking about doing that too. They've got some huge tubers at some of the local stores. Good to know your tuber sprouted no problem.

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