RNGR.net is sponsored by the USDA Forest Service and Southern Regional Extension Forestry and is a colloborative effort between these two agencies.

U.S. Department of Agriculture USDA Forest Service Southern Regional Extension Forestry Southern Regional Extension Forestry

Will Super Deep Freeze Damage Tree Seed?

Oklahoma's Clark-McNary nurseries store their more valuable tree seeds with a commercial cold storage firm. Good seed has been stored for more than 10 years without appreciable loss in germination. Species, such as the pines, are stored in 5-gallon water bottles on shelves in a cold storage room where the temperature remains a nearly constant -10° F. What low temperature extremes can tree seed withstand without damage? Cattle breeders store semen for long periods in small vials immersed in liquid nitrogen. Could tree seed be stored like semen? The temperature of liquid nitrogen is -320° F.


Download this file:

PDF document Download this file — PDF document, 62Kb

Details

Author(s): Albert Engstrom

Publication: Tree Planters' Notes - Issue 77 (1966)