Author Topic: Seed viability - various seeds in Rio, Brazil  (Read 8715 times)

PltdWorld

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Seed viability - various seeds in Rio, Brazil
« on: June 15, 2013, 10:14:44 AM »
My in-laws were kind enough to collect a lot of seeds for me... But I could use some help in determining if what they collected for me is still viable.  I'm here for 2 more weeks.

* jaboticaba
* abiu (lots of seeds, but they are probably 2 mos old now)
* araca-um (whole fruit stored in freezer)
* cashew (whole fruit stored in fridge)
* various eugenias

I plan to collect some jackfruit seeds (jaca mole) as it is everywhere here... But not sure how best to store.

Still looking for more seeds as well.

Any help is appreciated.

Berto

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Re: Seed viability - various seeds in Rio, Brazil
« Reply #1 on: June 15, 2013, 10:28:15 AM »
I will keep moist the following seeds:
jabuticaba
abiu
araca una in a freezer?  Good luck with this one (seeds that were frozen may not germinate)
eugenias
jaca mole ou dura
All of the above are not orthodox seeds

The only one you don't need to keep moist is caju


PltdWorld

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Re: Seed viability - various seeds in Rio, Brazil
« Reply #2 on: June 15, 2013, 10:47:25 AM »
Thanks Berto - i dont think the abiu have much of a chance... Its been a couple mos since they were collected.

Oh, one more... Carambola?

Lots of seeds from various trees.  Still collecting fruit from trees in front yard.

jcaldeira

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Re: Seed viability - various seeds in Rio, Brazil
« Reply #3 on: June 15, 2013, 11:53:02 AM »
When collecting seeds while traveling, I've had pretty good success by keeping the seeds inside the fruit as long as possible.  Being inside the fruit seems to retard germination of many fruit species' seeds.  After a fruit is fully ripe, I store it in the refrigerator to delay rotting.  The day before traveling back home, I harvest the seeds from the fruit. 
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fruitlovers

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Re: Seed viability - various seeds in Rio, Brazil
« Reply #4 on: June 15, 2013, 04:53:06 PM »
When collecting seeds while traveling, I've had pretty good success by keeping the seeds inside the fruit as long as possible.  Being inside the fruit seems to retard germination of many fruit species' seeds.  After a fruit is fully ripe, I store it in the refrigerator to delay rotting.  The day before traveling back home, I harvest the seeds from the fruit.

John is giving you excellent advice. Have a big fruit eating party 1-2 days before leaving. Abiu seeds for 2 months unless they were stored in moist medium are dead. Cashew can be kept dried as can carambola and guava seeds. Frozen seeds usually = dead seeds in tropical world. Hope you're having a great time!
Your big challenge will be when you enter USA. Did you take your small seed lot permit with you?
Oscar

Mike T

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Re: Seed viability - various seeds in Rio, Brazil
« Reply #5 on: June 15, 2013, 05:14:54 PM »
I have sent people many seeds that have rotted or sprouted so have been experimenting in how to extend there lives in the non sprouted seed stage. John is right about fruit flesh, even rooting having natural fungicides and germination inhibitors.
My potion of choice for soaking newly dried seeds is a brew of 30% peroxide and fungicide like copper oxychloride.After at least an hour soak redry for a few hours, place in a clip lock bag with almost dry peat moss.Too much moisture and they sprout. I have has jackfruit and durian seeds last for months this way and it certainly extends abius. Funny thing about abius is that the seeds of the improved types are weaker and have lower sprouting success rates and a shorter life than those of multi and big seeded mongrel poor abius that are small and full of latex and prone to bruising.

PltdWorld

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Re: Seed viability - various seeds in Rio, Brazil
« Reply #6 on: June 15, 2013, 06:53:27 PM »
Thanks John, Oscar and Mike!

Oscar, i have my Seed permit.  I also have a permit for live jabos and a few others if i can find a way to get phyto certs - not holding my breath.

Having a blast - literally - we set off a crazy amount of fireworks at our festa de juninha party today.

As for the abiu, it definitely isnt a named cultivar - all of the trees my relatives have were grown from seeds.  Gaviola, abiu, sapodilla, pitanga, acerola, carambola, goiaba, manga, jaboticaba, maracujá, papaia, mamão, cajamanga, araca-uma, etc.
 


Future

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Re: Seed viability - various seeds in Rio, Brazil
« Reply #7 on: June 15, 2013, 07:46:12 PM »
I planted 21 abiu that were eaten between May 20-24th in potting soil on Thursday.  I shipped them back via courier without media (could hardly find a gas station in Brisbane never mind sterile media).  Held up by "plant protection" until Thursday.  Will see how they do.  Some showed signs of decay but most looked just fine on the outside.

What is the drop dead date for abiu without moist media?

Mike T

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Re: Seed viability - various seeds in Rio, Brazil
« Reply #8 on: June 15, 2013, 08:21:00 PM »


Future I just took a pic of abiu seeds which have been in media - moist peat moss, for 5 weeks. The result is one casualty, most sprouting strong and some about to sprout. The verdict the medium is too moist and caused sprouting too quickly.Longevity could be prolonged and sprouting speed reduced with a slightly drier medium. I think it can be pushed out to months.If allowed to dry and not in a bag the seeds would struggle to last a week.
What I dubbed long abiu is an un-named types to 1.4lbs that is elongated, sweet, low latex and yellowish flesh with a single seed. These seeds are now too old to send.

fruitlovers

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Re: Seed viability - various seeds in Rio, Brazil
« Reply #9 on: June 15, 2013, 10:12:19 PM »
I planted 21 abiu that were eaten between May 20-24th in potting soil on Thursday.  I shipped them back via courier without media (could hardly find a gas station in Brisbane never mind sterile media).  Held up by "plant protection" until Thursday.  Will see how they do.  Some showed signs of decay but most looked just fine on the outside.

What is the drop dead date for abiu without moist media?

Future you could have just put a moistened piece of cotton or cloth inside the bag. If you can't find that you can at last resort use a moistened piece of paper towel or even toilet paper. I'm sure you can find thst even in Brisbane!  ;) The main requirement is that they don't completely dry out.
How long the abiu seeds will last will depend on weather, temperature, humidity in the air, etc. Out of the bag and in the shade probably 1-2 weeks is max. Inside a bag with moistened medium or moistened cloth they can last well over a month, and will start to sprout. It's an easy one to keep alive due to its exterior black hard shell protection around the seed.
Oscar

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Re: Seed viability - various seeds in Rio, Brazil
« Reply #10 on: June 15, 2013, 11:27:20 PM »
If you ask for gas in Brisbane you'll only be offered LPG at the service station. What you are after is called petrol or fuel in the local dialect. Toilet paper is technology that has not yet reached Brisbane.

fruitlovers

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Re: Seed viability - various seeds in Rio, Brazil
« Reply #11 on: June 15, 2013, 11:43:55 PM »
If you ask for gas in Brisbane you'll only be offered LPG at the service station. What you are after is called petrol or fuel in the local dialect. Toilet paper is technology that has not yet reached Brisbane.

HAHA. In places of low technology with no toilet paper you can use even newspaper. Just make sure there is no photo on newspaper of local leader so you don't end up in the Gulag archipelago.  :o
Oscar

Future

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Re: Seed viability - various seeds in Rio, Brazil
« Reply #12 on: June 16, 2013, 06:03:00 AM »
Thanks guys for the facts and the comedy.   :)

Will report back on results based on what I did.

Future

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Re: Seed viability - various seeds in Rio, Brazil
« Reply #13 on: June 30, 2013, 07:11:13 PM »
Thanks guys for the facts and the comedy.   :)

Will report back on results based on what I did.

Of the 22 seeds I planted, 21 in pure coco coir in a tray and wetted down daily, and grand total of.....22 germinated!  I have transferred them all to 1 gallon pots today.  I also have over 100 rollinia seedlings coming up...

PltdWorld

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Re: Seed viability - various seeds in Rio, Brazil
« Reply #14 on: June 30, 2013, 08:46:10 PM »
Future, that's a heck of a success rate!

The abiu seeds my in-laws had collected for me were all dried out and some had animals living in them.  Most of the araca-una seeds (500+ in a bag) were also infested with beetles.  The beetles got to some of the other seeds as well that had been packed into separate bags but stored in the same location.  I managed to get about 1200 seeds into 29 lots home (currently with APHIS in Houston), so it wasn't a complete loss - but missed out on some interesting seeds from the farm in Espirito Santo.  I showed my in-laws how to clean and prep seeds for shipping and left a sheet of yellow and green labels behind.  Hoping when the fruits start coming in this summer (theirs, not ours) I'll see some packets of seeds flowing my way.

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Re: Seed viability - various seeds in Rio, Brazil
« Reply #15 on: June 30, 2013, 11:22:21 PM »
Hmm....freezer, the terror of the seeds that are viable, and  more if are mirtaceae spp.

BMc

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Re: Seed viability - various seeds in Rio, Brazil
« Reply #16 on: June 30, 2013, 11:46:46 PM »
If you ask for gas in Brisbane you'll only be offered LPG at the service station. What you are after is called petrol or fuel in the local dialect. Toilet paper is technology that has not yet reached Brisbane.

HAHA. In places of low technology with no toilet paper you can use even newspaper. Just make sure there is no photo on newspaper of local leader so you don't end up in the Gulag archipelago.  :o

The local newspapers here would be best used to wipe your behind. Unfortunate truth is that land values are so over inflated by the Chinese commodity boom that even petrol stations can't afford to operate. I commute 12kms by road to town on a major arterial road and there is only one petrol station inbound and one outbound. Many have closed down in the past 10years.

I just went to Tropical Fruit World yesterday and missed the Abiu season. The guys said they had a terrible season, so you must have been in luck Future! They've had lots of off season rain and as I speak I'm in a beach house on a fantastic stretch of coast in the middle of a massive Low that's washed out all plans of surfing, fishing and sauntering through the local annona, avocado and jackfruit groves... Oh we'll, my Abiu is flowering again, so fingers crossed this is the year...

PltdWorld

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Re: Seed viability - various seeds in Rio, Brazil
« Reply #17 on: July 02, 2013, 12:39:11 AM »
Here are some photos from trip...


30'+ tall Jaboticaba (not in fruit, center of photo)


A stand of a half dozen or so 8'+ tall jabos planted in clay, fruiting


Jackfruit...


In-law's carambola tree in front yard.  Their two mango trees dwarf this thing.


Caja-manga (falling daily from in-law's tree)...


Large passion fruit for sale at Walmart


Walmart's mango selection


Fruits purchased at local farmer's market... atemoya were almost seedless (many had just 4 seeds) and sweet


Yay!  Monkeys.


nullzero

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Re: Seed viability - various seeds in Rio, Brazil
« Reply #18 on: July 02, 2013, 12:47:22 AM »
Great pictures really enjoyed them.
Grow mainly fruits, vegetables, and herbs.

Zambezi

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Re: Seed viability - various seeds in Rio, Brazil
« Reply #19 on: July 02, 2013, 12:48:56 AM »
Pltdworld,
Wow that Carambola has a nice thick trunk. Do they know how old it is?
How does a Caja-manga taste? .... Looks like you had a great time..:)

Cute Monkey..:)

jcaldeira

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Re: Seed viability - various seeds in Rio, Brazil
« Reply #20 on: July 02, 2013, 12:55:33 AM »
PltdWorld, your photos inspire me to visit some foreign tropical markets!  Nice!
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PltdWorld

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Re: Seed viability - various seeds in Rio, Brazil
« Reply #21 on: July 02, 2013, 01:11:05 AM »
The local fruit markets were pretty fun, the people incredibly friendly and the prices unbeatable.  Boxes of 7-8 atemoya for $3R (about $1.35 USD).  I bought out the "fruta do conde" (sugar apples) on two separate days.

But Brazil has more to offer.  Fireworks are legal.  We were launching these huge bottle rockets (think m80s on a stick) from the middle of the city that were rattling windows on the skyskrapers around us and these fountains that were shooting 10'+ streams of sparks.  Oh, and every time I have visited the surf has always been good... funny to see the locals wearing fullsuits in 72 degree water.




PltdWorld

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Re: Seed viability - various seeds in Rio, Brazil
« Reply #22 on: July 02, 2013, 01:27:27 AM »
Pltdworld,
Wow that Carambola has a nice thick trunk. Do they know how old it is?
How does a Caja-manga taste? .... Looks like you had a great time..:)

Cute Monkey..:)

I'll ask about the age of the carambola - I was able to get a few fruits from this tree by throwing a soccer ball at them.  It's not possible to reach the fruit on the mango trees anymore... we used to be able to pick fruit from the roof of the second floor.  I have a photo somewhere of all the blooms, as well as pictures of large mango trees planted in public areas - they plant mangos like Californians plant jacaranda... it's everywhere.

As for the caja-manga, I didn't even try it.  Lame, considering I was looking forward to trying lots of new fruit - but these things were crawling with bugs in the morning after the birds knocked them from the branches.  None of my relatives eat it, and I think they said it's typically made into sweets/candy.  It's another big tree - and unless I stood under it for hours on end, I wouldn't be able to get fruit before it hit the ground.  I found large worms (flys?) in the carambola that had hit the ground, which turned me off from trying other fruits that weren't still attached to the tree.

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Re: Seed viability - various seeds in Rio, Brazil
« Reply #23 on: July 02, 2013, 07:03:08 AM »
I think the caja manga is june plum (S. dulcis).

PltdWorld

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Re: Seed viability - various seeds in Rio, Brazil
« Reply #24 on: July 02, 2013, 09:14:04 AM »
This fruit is definitely a Spondias spp.  My in-laws call it "caja manga", which points to Spondias dulcis -- but it looks very much like some of the other Spondias spp. and everything is grown from seed, so I was thinking it was possible this one is actually something slightly different (ie Spondias mombim? or other).