Module 15 : Hot water treatment
Training, self-paced, seed production, health, quality
Welcome to this new training module, “Hot water treatment” !
Hello !
My name is Dr. Jelena Bacanovic-Sisic. I am plant pathologist working at the Bingenheimer Saatgut AG in the field of plant and seed health. Also, I am senior scientist and Project coordinator at the University of Kassel, Faculty of Organic Agricultural Sciences, Section of Ecological Plant Protection.
Today, I'm going to talk to you about hot water treatments as a means to sanitize organic vegetable seeds.
Sanitize organic vegetable seeds : why it is important ?
Despite all the care taken in the seed propagation process, sometimes seed crops and harvested seeds are infected with seed-transmitted diseases, which may represent a risk for the crop which will be grown from those seeds. This is especially problematic for vegetable crops, where seed production happens over a long crop cycle (in particular biannuals) and are labour-intensive. In such situations, hot water treatments are an effective way of reducing or eliminating certain seed-borne pathogens on many crop species.
After completing this module, you will be able to
- differentiate seed-borne vs. seed-transmitted diseases
- recognize the impact of seed-borne pathogens on crop production
- list at least 10 crops where hot water treatment is effective
- describe the principles, process, and risks of hot water treatments
- access and apply reliable references for practice
Take the training module
15.1_Video unit
Hot water treatments
15.2_Exercice
Test hot water seed treatments on a small scale
15.3_Quiz
Fill out the quiz
Download the powerpoint files
15.1_PowerPoint File
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Recommendations for completing the module
Time needed to complete the module : Completing this e-learning module will take approximately 120 minutes.
To complete this e-learning activity, you will need a good internet connection for video content and basic knowledge in agronomy.
Further resources
Practice Abstract
DIY Hot water treatment for sanitazion of vegetable seeds, a practice abstract n°5 delivered in the Liveseeding project.
Webpage on hot water treatments
by the Extension Service of the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Evaluation of several tools for hot water treatments
This webpage of Michigan State University reports on the evaluation of several tools for hot water treatments.
Video : using a kitchen sous-vide device
Seed treatment : using a kitchen sous-vide device
To get another practical perspective on hot water treatments, here are the slides by Frank Morton (Wild Garden Seed), Tom Stearns (High Mowing Seeds) and Nick Andrews (OSU Small Farms Extension) made available by the Seed Ambassadors Project in the USA : https://www.seedambassadors.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Small-scale-Hot-Water-Treatment.pdf