Seedling Emergence and Yield from Hydrated Collard Seeds Fluid-drilled in High-phosphorus Gel

Abstract

Seeds of `Champion' collard (Brassica oleracea L. var. acephala) were hydrated in water or a fluid-drilling gel (N-gel, hydroxyethyl cellulose) for 1 or 2 days at 20C (50 seeds/ml) before they were fluid-drilled into peat-lite in a greenhouse. Time to 50% seedling emergence from these seeds was more than 2 days earlier than from dry-sown untreated seeds, although emergence synchrony and percentage were unaffected. A second greenhouse study revealed more rapid seedling emergence from hydrated seeds that then were fluid-drilled than from dry-sown untreated seeds even when the delivery gel contained up to 25 g 9N-19.8P-12.5K/liter. Increasing fertilizer from 5 to 25 g·liter-1 led to increased shoot fresh weight 6 weeks after planting. When sown on two dates into field plots, hydrated seeds (1 day in either water or gel at 20C, 50 seeds/ml) that were fluid-drilled in 1.5% (w/v) N-gel containing 5 or 15 g 9N-19.8P-12.5K/liter yielded 42% greater final shoot fresh weights than untreated seeds sown dry.