Seed germinating without the 1st set of leaves

[LIAB]

So I've had a difficult time lately with getting plants started from seeds. They germinate at a reasonable percentage but many of the seedlings are born without their 1st leaf set and never grow it. I'm doing things like I've been doing a long time. Shot glass wit ro water and a little h2o2. When there is a tap root I put in moist paper towel for another day or 2 then. In coco. 400ppm including cal mag. At about 25 percent.... The seeds are my own product. I recently incorporated some ethos genes into a cross between the local landrace and some bag seeds from Canadian kush. I think it could be the genetics or seed maturity. Does anyone else have an idea what could be going on? Tia

 

[Listersmeghead]

Hi @LIAB
Can I ask how old those seeds are?
I've only encountered this with some older seeds that I tried growing.
They were over 5 years old.

 

[LIAB]

Hi @LIAB
Can I ask how old those seeds are?
I've only encountered this with some older seeds that I tried growing.
They were over 5 years old.

They are about 1 year old only. Been stored in a small zip bag inside a small cardboard box in a dresser drawer.

I wondering if they are getting Nute burn ?


This one popped up yesterday. This is the only one so far that has a chance

 

[Azimuth]

The dresser drawer seed storage location could be an issue unless your's is climate controlled. Swings in both temp and humidity can degrade your seeds significantly and lead to trouble germinating and funky early growth.

Not saying that's definitely it. It could be some issue with the cross, but something to keep in mind.

Here's how I store mine

 

[Listersmeghead]

400ppm could be a bit strong but nothing shocking imo..you could try a weaker nute solution on another..I'm not a coco grower though, I know it needs feeding from the start, maybe try 300ppm.
I'm not seeing much nute burn symptoms though, more unstable genetics.
Were the seeds mature when you harvested them from the buds?

 

[Phytoplankton]

Dud seeds, where there's only the cotyledons and no true leaves are not too uncommon, but multiple duds in the same planting is rare. Could be genetics/seed age, or something environmental (nutes, watering?). You could try using a seed starter mix for the first couple weeks, instead of going into straight coco, just to see if it makes a difference. Something is definitely not right, in the last picture with the one real leaf, the cotyledons are already yellow, and the leaf tip is also turning yellow. In my grows the cotyledons stay green for a couple weeks at least.

 

[Vegan4life]

I would try in seed starter mix like Phyto said, maybe a mix of 70% peat moss and 30% perlite, maybe a small bit of compost or worm castings. You should not add nutes at this seedling stage, they should have what the need in the cotyledon leaves.

 

[LIAB]

400ppm could be a bit strong but nothing shocking imo..you could try a weaker nute solution on another..I'm not a coco grower though, I know it needs feeding from the start, maybe try 300ppm.
I'm not seeing much nute burn symptoms though, more unstable genetics.
Were the seeds mature when you harvested them from the buds?

To me they are mature . I've been successful with less matured seeds before. Here is a pic if some I just germinated . Out of the last 8 I think I don't want any unless the one that has a chance starts looking good . I'll just start over completely.

 

[Listersmeghead]

To me they are mature . I've been successful with less matured seeds before. Here is a pic if some I just germinated . Out of the last 8 I think I don't want any unless the one that has a chance starts looking good . I'll just start over completely.

Yep, those seeds look mature enough to me also.
I'd try them in the seedling mix like others sugest, the numbers will tell the results.
Hope you get a couple to catch.

 

[LIAB]

Went down to 380 ppm and this was the result. Something is still wrong . The 1st set of leaves are like translucent when the seed 1st opens and start to turn green soon as exposed to any light. Normally my 1st set of leaves are green and more developed soon as the seed opens ?

 

[Listersmeghead]

The stems look good and strong as a level of plant health, there's even a good level of green and leaf on one of them.
I'm sure if you persevere one or 2 will make it to a viable plant, but whether that's worth it or not is another thought.
It may have just been the temperature of seed storage in the drawer that caused the issues...maybe not?
Long term storage is best in cool dark, some store in the fridge long term.

 

[Azimuth]

The stems look good and strong as a level of plant health, there's even a good level of green and leaf on one of them.
I'm sure if you persevere one or 2 will make it to a viable plant, but whether that's worth it or not is another thought.
It may have just been the temperature of seed storage in the drawer that caused the issues...maybe not?
Long term storage is best in cool dark, some store in the fridge long term.

Agreed ^^^.

Maybe just treat this round as a science experiment and see what you can learn. Try different nute levels, different initial mixes (like the peat moss/perlite recommendation), different pH water, etc. and see if you can narrow down the issue.