Yes, bleach does just fine. Also, we added a pinch of detergent, lab glasssware detergent, Alqinox I beleive it was (real scientific, I know). In fact I used this same 5% bleach sln' in micropropagation class at UF, as well as in the lab I worked w/ tissue culture/foreign DNA bombardment of cereal grasses. This works well to clean up bulbs and w/ twin-scaling pieces that may be contaminated. Kevin Preuss ----- Original Message ----- From: <Johnson3591@aol.com> To: <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2003 9:18 AM Subject: [pbs] Disinfecting seeds, Bleach or Consan > Hi, > > I soak seeds in 5% household bleach (1 part bleach and 19 parts water). If > they are robust seeds (hard-coated or hard to germinate), or if they have given > me fungus problems before, I use 10% household bleach. I stir several times > and let the seeds stay in the solution for 10 minutes, stirring every minute > or two. I use this to clean up bulb scales and cuttings too. > > One other approach for keeping seedlings fungus-free is Consan or Physan (I > generally use Consan Triple Action 20). I use 1 ounce per gallon of water mist > the seeds and soil surface to full wetness. These gentle fungicides are > biodegradable and have no lasting effect, so I mist the soil surface 2 or 3 times > a week while seeds are germinating if I have a bit of fungus problem or if I'm > dealing with a seed type that has had fungus problems before. I find Consan > to be safe with even the tiniest seedling. Consan is a quaternary amine-type > fungicide/bacteriocide, and essentially the same thing is used as a surface > disinfectant in hospitals (floors, bathrooms, etc.). > > I also use Consan to wash down surfaces that have mildew and algae growing on > them such as windows that get a lot of moisture, or lawn furniture, etc. > Although a fungicide its toxicity is quite low compared to something like laundry > detergent or even caffeine. I do take care not to get it in eyes or stay on > skin, it can irritate. > > > LINK: Consan FAQ (manufacturer's page) > <A HREF="http://www.consan.net/faq.html">http://www.consan.net/faq.html</A> > > > Cordially, > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php >