Investigating Seed Drying: the Development of Low Technology Drying Options and Methods for Measuring Seed Moisture Status

Contents of Kew's Mini-Seed Bank for banking seeds at home

This project is one of a series in the theme 'Post-harvest Technology'.

Seed drying is the first and most important stage in the processing of seed conservation collections and it is often vital that collections are dried in the field soon after collection. Impediments to effective seed drying due to characteristics of the seeds themselves or the ambient environment could result in seed death and thus a complete waste of the investment made in securing the collection.

This project looks at the low-technology options for drying in the field during a collecting trip and/or for drying where purpose-built facilities (i.e. ‘dry-rooms’) aren’t available, a situation which many of the MSBP partners face, particularly at the start of a partnership. For example, the potential for cooled incubators to act as small-scale seed dryers has been quantified and the system has been adopted by several MSB partners. A by-product of our studies on low-technology seed drying has been the development of the ‘mini seed bank’ kit. Aimed mainly at Kew’s visitors, over 1400 mini seed banks have been sold through the Kew shops and by mail-order since its launch in 2002.

Reliable, non-destructive and low cost options for measuring seed moisture status have been trialled, validated and introduced to MSB partners.

The emphasis now is to work with MSBP partners to identify constraints to effective seed drying and the monitoring of seed moisture in the field and at the local community level. Building on earlier pilot studies at the MSB, research and development studies will be made of a range of locally available materials with potential to act as seed drying agents.