5. HOW TO PREPARE SEED FOR STORAGE

Seed collectors generally aim to sow or dispatch their seed soon after acquiring it. For various reasons, they may need to store the seed for future use. But remember, the longer seed is stored, the greater chance that viability will be reduced or lost.

5.1 Seed extraction

Seed is collected while embedded in ripe fleshy fruits, dried fruits, in pods, or as single seeds. Depending upon which, proper extraction and cleaning require slightly different treatments. Cleaning seed before storage is easy, but vital to maintaining seed quality.

Figure 17 Collecting seeds from a fallen tree.

Most seed extraction requires pre-drying of the fruit. But some may require pre-soaking in order to extract the seed easily.

• Dry seeds whose pods are known to shatter naturally.
• Soak seed borne in fleshy pulpy fruits or pods that have dried but do not shatter naturally.

The following are step-by-step lists of how to extract seed from dry, and fleshy fruits:

For dry fruits (pods or cones)

1. Sun dry on concrete, canvas sheet, or inside cloth sacks until pods split open. (Pods or cones may also be placed on a wire mesh with a container below it so that when pods or cones split, seeds fall down into the container) (Figure 18).
2. Trample with feet, toss around, or beat pods inside a sack to speed up seed separation. Pods which do not easily split open may be opened manually, or threshed by pestling (Figures 19 and 20).
3. Clean seeds by blowing or winnowing (Figure 21).
4. Immerse seeds shortly in a container of water.
5. Discard those that float. They are not viable.
6. Drain the water, and re-dry the seeds. When seeds are to be planted immediately, re-drying is unnecessary (Figure 22).

Figure 18 Put pods on a sieve with a container below. After collecting and cleaning, sun-dry seed.

Figure 19 Beat a sack full of dry pods or fruits with a stick to thresh out the seeds.	Figure 20 Use a mortar and pestle to thresh seeds which are strongly attached to the pods.	Figure 21 Winnowing the seeds.

	Fleshy fruits
	If possible, seed extraction should be done at home. Do not delay extraction for too long and never store fruit piled up and undisturbed. (Heating and fermentation in the pile could kill the seeds or reduce their quality). Immerse in water until the fleshy tissue becomes soft (1–2 days). Scrape, crush, or rub seeds with hands to separate throughly from pulpy flesh. (Be careful not to be so rough as to damage the seed). Remove all floating seeds and pulp. Drain off the water. Re-wash the seed. Air dry for 2 days. Re-clean the seeds by winnowing.
Figure 22 Cleaning the seeds by hand.

5.2 Seed drying

If seeds will be stored for future use, they must be sun dried.

1. Spread the seeds thinly and evenly on a mat, canvas sheet, light-colored plastic sheet, (a black sheet may cause seed to overheat), winnowing basket, or screen where the sun shines all day (Figures 23 and 24).

2. Stir and turn the seeds 4–5 times a day for uniform drying. If possible keep seeds (especially moist ones) shaded during intense heat. (noon to 2:00 PM.)

3. Before it rains or gets dark, take the seeds indoors.

4. Drying will take 1–3 days, depending on how wet the seeds are.

5. Protect the seeds from rodents and birds during drying.

The same drying procedure may be used for seeds of most fruit trees. Exceptions are seeds of rambutan, durian, mangosteen, mango, jackfruit, avocado, rubber, cacao and mahogany. These should be air dried only for a day or two before storing, or they must be planted immediately after extraction.

Figure 23 Drying seeds on a plastic sheet.	Figure 24 Drying seeds on a winnowing basket.