Sprouted seed: What % visible sprouting to expect?

[Finchy]

Hi

By following Mike Fidler's clean sprouting method I have had my most successful seed soak ever (kind of...), resulting in no trace of sourness and only the sweet, clean smell that it's supposed to produce. Hooray! However, I can barely see any actual sprouting going on. There's just a trace in the White Millet; none at all in the Canary, Rape, Oats or any other seeds.

What percentage sprouting should I expect to see after a 44 hour sprout of decent quality seed in warmish weather?

Ta

[GregH]

There is a range in how long it takes to germinate seed depending on species. After >40h you should expect to see something in most grasses if:
a) the seed is still viable and is not dormant as can happen if the seed is freshly havested
b) the temperature is >22oC (low temperatures will supress germination and microbial activity can take off)
c) the container is ventiated - build up of CO2 or ethylene will supress germination even in the presence of oxygen
d) the seed is properly hydrated since if it dries out (if you didn't soak it long enough) germination will cease and usually fungi take over or if it is too wet, oxygen levels are too low and bacterial rots set in.

If your seed is freshly harvested and you suspect it is dormant you can artifically age it by keeping it at 50oC for 3days. Don't ask me how to achieve that at home as I used to do it in laboratory ovens at IRRI specifially set up for this exact purpose. If your seed is inviable then nothing will bring it back. If you keep bulk seed for sprouting then the drier, the colder and the more anoxic the conditions the better it is for extending seed viability. Living in the topics until recently I always kept my seed in the freezer (-18oC) in vacuume sealed bags for up to 12 months without loss off viability - that said don't do this with oil seeds (canola/rape, niger, lettuce, sunflower, safflower etc) or you will kill them.

[Finchy]

That's excellent info, thanks. I believe I have met all of the criteria, except I don't know if it's freshly harvested - that would be a nice reason for failure!

I suspect, for the Canary at least, that it might be irradiated Canadian imported seed, as that's a possibility with Avigrain. In that case the dead seed has no option other than to rot. I must say I've been surprised by how indifferent the birds are to the soaked seed and by how much wastage I've been getting with the dry seed in general.

Next week I'll experiment - try the same method on seed that's definitely locally grown and see whether the results are different.