Re: Aquatic Plants Digest V5 #438

[Mitoem at aol_com]

I'm not a botanist, but I"m wondering if the seeds may have been coated to 
prevent fungal rot during storage?  if so, maybe the ethanol pre-soak is to 
break this coating down...?  Or it could be to kill any nasties to prevent 
fungal growth during the 90 day (long time!!) cold soak (in water, I'm 
assuming?)  

Any of the alcohols you mentioned should be fine; I believed some drugstore 
brands are dosed with methanol to make them taste bad, so it might be a good 
idea to check for that, although even so I doubt it could have any ill 
effect.  


In a message dated 11/15/2002 1:43:32 AM Pacific Standard Time, 
Aquatic-Plants-Owner at actwin_com writes:

> Date: Thu, 14 Nov 2002 21:37:45 -0500
> From: "James Purchase" <jppurchase at rogers_com>
> Subject: Ethyl Alcohol
> 
> I'm wondering if any of the biologists on the list can clue me in on what I
> need to do here. Is the purpose of the 5 minute soak to sterilize the seeds
> prior to their "cold soak"? Can rubbing alcohol be used for this purpose, 
> or
> do I have to go to my Doctor and ask for a prescription for the drinkable
> variety? Or, alternatively, can I just pour a few ounces of Vodka over the
> seeds to do the same thing (and much more cheaply)?
> 
> 



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