I'm planting a late crop of corn, and I soaked some seeds in a cup of
water overnight to expedite their germination. About half the seeds
are floating at the surface of the water, while the other half have
sunk to the bottom of the cup. Is this any indication of seed
viability? Should I discard the floating seeds and only plant the
sunken ones, or vice versa?

Thanks.

On 25 Jul 2003 16:25:20 -0700, (Fleemo) wrote:

I'm planting a late crop of corn, and I soaked some seeds in a cup of
water overnight to expedite their germination. About half the seeds
are floating at the surface of the water, while the other half have
sunk to the bottom of the cup. Is this any indication of seed
viability? Should I discard the floating seeds and only plant the
sunken ones, or vice versa?

Thanks.


http://www.citygardening.net/testseed/

I would use Hand Hot water to soak them in, this heats the air in the seed
and expels it from the seed case, then as the water cools the trapped air
shrinks and draws water in.
Often if you just put seed into cold water there is a fine coat of air that
stops the water entering the seed coat.
Also much easier than chiting hard coated seeds.

--
David Hill
Abacus nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk