Desinfektion von Gemüsesamen mit belüftetem Dampf

Summary

Healthy seeds are a necessary condition for economic production of high quality
vegetables, not only in organic production. Seed health comprises not just high levels
of germination and emergence, but also absence of fungal infections. More than 200
genera of vegetable seed borne pathogenic fungi are listed in the literature: e.g.
Alternaria, Ascochyta, Botrytis, Bremia, Cercospora, Colletotrichum, Peronospora,
Phoma, Plasmopara, Phytophthora, Stemphylium, Septoria.
Hot water seed treatment or hot air treatment can be applied to disinfect vegetable
seeds. Both techniques result in an intensive soaking of the seeds, which makes
expensive drying necessary to avoid unwanted germination of the grains. Disinfection
of carrot seeds with aerated steam (90 sec./65° C.) completely eliminates fungal
contaminations without impairing germination percentage. Because of the limited
exposure time, little water is taken up by the grains, leading to comparably low drying
costs.