Germination Tests Of Frozen Corn Seed

[GoDawgs]

I was pondering what corn to grow next spring and checking out the inventory of what I already had on hand in the freezer's seed box. Some of the lots were from 2017 so I decided it was a good time to do a germination test on all six lots. If they're not good, out they go! Twenty seeds of each were started on the 14th using the damp paper towel in a ziplock bag method. So far, so good.

The Incredible from 2022 had 19 of 20 seeds germinate, 95%

24.11.17 Incredible '22 19 of 20 germ, 95 pct.JPG

The Silver Queen from 2019 had 100% germination.

24.11.17 SQ '19 corn test 100 pct germ.JPG

Others are coming along:

Boone County White 2017, just starting to germinate. That's a dent type. Huge fat ears! I wonder if that's why it's slower than the sweet corns.
Silver Queen 2017, 16 of 20 so far
Silver Queen from 2022, 15 of 20 so far.
Golden Bantam from 2018, 13 of 20 so far.

I think I'll have enough Silver Queen for my needs come spring. They're what's left over from previous plantings. Then I'll buy more this spring to replace the emergency stash in the freezer.

[GoDawgs]

Results! Here are the results with final % of germination after five days:

2017 Boone County White - 100%
2017 Silver Queen - 100%
2018 Golden Bantam - 95%(19 of 20)
2019 Silver Queen - 100%
2022 Silver Queen - 100%
2022 Incredible - 95 %

Wow! I was almost shocked! I say almost because I really didn't expect the 2017 seed to do well but it proves that for me freezing does preserve corn seed which is supposed to have a one year life span. And what this means is that I won't have to buy any corn seed for spring. But I think I will buy some Silver Queen to have some in the freezer to replace the oldies that will be used. A little Golden Bantam and Boone County will be planted and left to dry on the stalk for collection since they're open pollinated types. The others are hybrid so no collection there.

[Shule]

Cool. Did you try unfrozen seeds of the same ages at some point, too? The figures seed stores give you for seed longevity can be pretty conservative (meaning, they could be a lot longer than that, potentially—at least for some kinds of crops, such as tomatoes).

Some seeds may last longer than others, too, due to humidity differences, packaging, being mailed without padding, etc.

[GoDawgs]

Cool. Did you try unfrozen seeds of the same ages at some point, too? The figures seed stores give you for seed longevity can be pretty conservative (meaning, they could be a lot longer than that, potentially—at least for some kinds of crops, such as tomatoes).

Some seeds may last longer than others, too, due to humidity differences, packaging, being mailed without padding, etc.

Didn't try any old unfrozen corn as I don't have any. But I do know about how long some seeds can last all on their own in a normal environment. I have old brassica seeds of various sorts that still germinate as well as daikon radish. However it seems that pepper seed loses it's vigor after three or four years under normal conditions.

[Wembley]

Hello

Thank you @GoDawgs for sharing your experiment

Here, I have been given this week some Strawberry corn seeds from 2015.
But they have not been frozen…

I will do a germination test soon.
And see how it goes.

Is anyone know if putting the corn seeds in the freezer for a few days would help them to germinate after?

Thank you