Sea Kale Germination Experiment - Part 4 (Final Update)

We started an experiment about Sea Kale germination. We wanted to see if it made any difference if we soaked the seeds or if the pericarp (the outer layer) of the seed was removed or cracked. 
We put 2 seeds in each pot, and used 5 pots for each category. 

• Soaked overnight, Pericarp Removed - Floated 
• Soaked overnight, Pericarp Removed - Sank
• Soaked overnight, Pericarp Cracked
• Soaked overnight, Pericarp Intact (all floated)
• Not Soaked, Pericarp Removed
• Not Soaked, Pericarp Cracked
• Not Soaked, Pericarp Intact

We observed the pots checking for germination daily from Jan 26th through to March 16th.
It has been almost a month since our last seedling emerged (on Feb 22nd) and therefore, we are wrapping up this experiment. 

Sea Kale Experiment Results

Category	Container	Date 1st Sprout Emerged	Date 2nd Sprout Emerged
Soaked Overnight, Pericarp Removed, Floated	1	Jan 29 - Seedling was not Sea Kale	-
	2	-	-
	3	Feb 1	-
	4	Jan 28	Jan 29
	5	Jan 31	Feb 6
Soaked Overnight, Pericarp Removed, Sank	1	-	-
	2	Feb 1	-
	3	Feb 2	-
	4	Feb 1	Feb 4
	5	Feb 2	-
Soaked Overnight, Pericarp Cracked	1	-	-
	2	-	-
	3	-	-
	4	Feb 9	-
	5	Feb 3*	-
Soaked Overnight, Pericarp Intact	1	-	-
	2	Feb 17	-
	3	-	-
	4	Feb 9	-
	5	Feb 5	-
Not Soaked, Pericarp Removed	1	-	-
	2	Feb 8	Feb 9
	3	Feb 3	-
	4	Feb 3	Feb 22
	5	Feb 5	-
Not Soaked, Pericarp Cracked	1	-	-
	2	-	-
	3	Feb 4*	-
	4	Feb 1	Feb 4
	5	Feb 1	Feb 6
Not Soaked, Pericarp Intact	1	-	-
	2	Feb 17	-
	3	-	-
	4	-	-
	5	-	-

? - Not 100% sure it is a Sea Kale Seedling. Will know for certain when the true leaves emerge.
* The Seedling has emerged, but the pericarp is still over the cotyledons.

Summary of Results:

Category	Germination Rate		Average Number of Days for Germination
Soaked Overnight, Pericarp Removed, Floated	5/10	50%	(7+3+4+5+12) ÷ 5	6.2
Soaked Overnight, Pericarp Removed, Sank	5/10	50%	(7+8+7+10+8) ÷ 5	8
Soaked Overnight, Pericarp Cracked	2/10	20%	(15+9) ÷ 2	12
Soaked Overnight, Pericarp Intact	3/10	20%	(23+15+11) ÷ 3	16
Not Soaked, Pericarp Removed	6/10	60%	(14+15+9+9+28+11) ÷ 6	14.3
Not Soaked, Pericarp Cracked	5/10	50%	(10+7+10+7+12) ÷ 5	9.2
Not Soaked, Pericarp Intact	1/10	10%	(23) ÷ 1	23

General Observations:

When comparing the soaked seeds to the ones which were not soaked. The ones which were not soaked overnight had better germination rates when the pericarp was removed or cracked.

The rates of germination for the pericarp being removed whether they floated or sank when soaked overnight was 50%. For those that were not soaked, the germination rate was 60%, However, due to the small sample size this might not be that much of a difference. 

With the pericarp cracked, the germination rate was lower when it was soaked overnight, 20% compared to the ones which were not soaked at 50%



When the pericarp was left intact, the soaked ones had a higher germination rate of 30% compared to 10% when not soaked. 




Conclusion:
It seems as though the best results for germination is when the pericarp is cracked or removed without soaking overnight.

If you are not going to remove the pericarp, soak the seeds before planting. 

__________________

This is a picture of the Sea Kale seedling which emerged with the pericarp cracked but the pericarp remained over the cotyledons.

We had a slight problem with dampening off for some of the seedlings, (in hindsight we probably should have sterilized our potting mix). We also lost a couple of seedlings when we transplanted them to larger pots. The rest are doing well but a bit leggy.

Here are a couple of pictures our other Sea Kale seedlings.