Effects of twelve seed treatments on germination, survival and growth of seedlings in a radiata pine nursery.  G. Minko, F. Y. Kassaby, L. A. Stephens and R. Brash.  December 1984.  5 pp. (unpubl.)

SUMMARY

A study was made of the effects of various seed treatments on germination and growth of Pinus radiata D. Don (radiata pine) seedlings in the Benalla Regional Nursery, North-eastern Victoria. Machine and hand dewinging, fungicide coating, and stratification in open nylon mesh, calico or closed polyethylene bags were studied, in various combinations.

The results showed that the current nursery practice of using either machine or hand-dewinged seeds, coated with fungicide and stratified in closed polyethylene bags, was generally comparable to the best of the other treatments studied, and satisfactory by most standards. For this treatment nursery bed germination was 90% and plantable seedlings 81.0%, expressed as a percentage of the numbers of seeds sown.

Evidently, current seed-treatment practice in the Benalla Nursery is satisfactory and should not be varied without further research.