blueish germination on nepenthes seeds?

[Fred]

Hi all!

I just noticed something extremely strange, it never happened before in my Nep seed growing.

These are N. aristolochioides hybrid seeds sowed on 25/02/16, so 3 days ago, after 2 days of soaking in distilled water along with H2O2 (1cup water + 1/2 teaspoon H2O2).

The same goes for these N. bongso seeds, exactly same treatment. I have no idea if this is bacterial growth or just very weird germination going on...?

These normal sprouts are N. jacquelinae, same treatment! But an earlier batch.

I have sprayed the weird germinating pots with some distilled water+H2O2 again (same concentration), as a preventative measure. It isn't on the outer coating of ungerminated seeds, I'm pretty sure of that since I inspected them under magnifying lenses, so they must have sprouted but then somehow caught something? It seems more or less jelly-like. Anybody have seen this? Any help appreciated

 

[Swagalotus]

Just out of curiosity, how long did the jacq seeds take to germinate?

 

[Fred]

They were sowed on January 4th and saw first signs of germination by February 15th (around 7 seedlings, now pushing 20). Normal/quick pace in Nep terms

 

[Fred]

oops double posts...

 

[Stranger]

Hate to say it, but mold? When I've ended up with a batch of moldy seeds they were often bluish like that, but those were more hairy than jelly-like.

 

[curtisconners]

That's my best guess too. It looks like it could some kind of blue mold or fungus, especially if it's jelly-like. If you want to be sure, move the seeds to another room as a kind quarantine. So that your seedlings don't get whatever the others have.

 

[Fred]

Yes I've moved the seeds exhibiting this reaction to another container. Hopefully the other ones will germinate normally unharmed, I really got my hopes up for these species especially

Still that's the risk one must take with Nep seeds...sometimes things go not according to plan. At least I can find solace in the fact that my jacquelinae seedlings are doing great so far.

I'll quite possibly never know for sure if it's mold or any kind of fungi. The only thing I could think of in terms of texture and overall aspect would be some kind of slime mold, or perhaps cyanobacteria but honestly this would be kind of a stretch IMHO. Of course it's pretty hard to tell from these pictures but with close eye inspection it resembles a swollen seed with bluish-white(so appearing violet to some eyes) starch exposed or germ which swells something aqueous and perhaps a little jelly-like. It really seems the color comes from within the starch or germ itself... Definitely a first lol

Anyways thanks for your answers I'll keep this thread updated on the progress and results, since I've never came across a thread mentioning this kind of issue as far as I know (in these conditions that is...TC and it's occasional hormone imbalance mishaps is another world!).

 

[BigBella]

It strikes me as an algal bloom, either that or blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) . . .

 

[NemJones]

Ive never seen anything like this with seeds, normally when they mold its fuzzy, green, and on the outside.
Good luck with your seeds, I hope they germinate just as much as you. Keep a close eye on them

 

[AnIsleAteHer]

is it safe to spray seeds with an h2o2 solution? Its me first try at germinating nep seeds, and one of my propagation pots is starting to show green slime algae/cyanobacteria. What is the best way to treat them?

 

[Fred]

I'm out for the week, so I can't follow up this issue for now. I'm eager to know what will be up once I return

[MENTION=11391]AnIsleAteHer[/MENTION] Household H2O2 (3% IIRC) can be used as a spray by diluting 1/2 teaspoon into 1cup of RO water, like I've used. As far as I know though, it works best as a preventive fungicide and is of not much use for algae, probably even less once it's already present in the media. I personally would repot those seeds into milled LFS like I have used here. In my case, if it truly is algae, it's the first it happened on LFS, whereas on mixes incorporating peat and/or perlite, algae have been an issue at times. Try cleaning the affected seeds with a small paintbrush to remove algae but I would mainly focus on those that aren't affected so far. Be sure the seeds touches the moist sphag. Just my 2 cents!

 

[curtisconners]

I just thought of something that might help, springtails. They are known to eat mold, they might eat whatever's on your seeds. Just look up vivarium supplies and you should find some for sale. It might not work though. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Fred]

Oh I haven't thought of that, but I do not have access to springtails at the moment. I have treated the slimy affected seeds with full strength (3%) household H2O2. A fizz was noticeable on the slime, which makes me lean towards a bacterial presence after all. The others got the usual diluted solution treatment to keep molds at bay. So far so good!