Preventing, Detecting, and Treating Damping Off

[mrcasey]

I have some experience germinating Japanese black pine seeds. I've often encountered damping off issues. This time around, I tried soaking the seeds in 3% hydrogen peroxide before placing them in a bag with vermiculite. Do the tips of these chitted seeds look like they've been infected with damping off already? If it is damping off, can they be treated and saved? Is there anything else I can do to try and prevent damping off. Copper, perhaps?

 

[Wulfskaar]

Are you just planting them? If not, I would say to just plant them in soil. They don't really need stratification. I've found just putting them in some soil and watering until moist works great. Then, make sure they are not soaked and get fresh air flow and sunlight.

 

[pmalelis]

The peroxide and water solution can be used to moisten the stratification medium as well if you choose to stratify

 

[mrcasey]

Do the root tips indicate the beginning of damping off or do they look healthy?

 

[Shibui]

The black root tips are not healthy but may not be damping off which normally attacks stems at soil level after the seed leaves have opened.
These should be saveable. I would snip off the black tips. All seedlings have the ability to grow new roots, even pines. The younger they are the easier it is.
They may survive just with the removal of infected parts and plant into more suitable conditions but some treatment might be prudent in case the infection has already moved further into the stem but not yet showing symptoms. Have not done that so can't recommend any particular fungicide or whether peroxide would be effective.

Definitely agree with @Wulfskaar JBP do not require stratification so why create problems with seeds germinating in closed containers.

 

[mrcasey]

I found this pic on the Mirai forum posted by someone named Drew. His germinated JBP seeds definitely don't have the black tips.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

placing them in a bag

I think this might be the issue.

Bags are poorly ventilated, and depending on your fridge temp and the time it takes for seeds to germinate, things can get growing in there before the seeds pop open.

What might be good is to get some cotton, and create some kind of filtered ventilation.

Or add a bit of pine soil from one of your pots. It should have some of the beneficial stuff that competes with the bad micro organisms.
Sometimes the more sterile the medium, the more difficult it is to fend off the baddies.