View Single Post
Old April 16, 2018   #4
bower
Tomatovillian™
 
bower's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Newfoundland, Canada
Posts: 6,793
Default

Grey mold doesn't dwell inside the seed coat, so in that sense it is not "seed borne". Fermentation and other seed processing treatments should remove it from the seed coat, but IMO the spores are in the environment anyway, being not specific to tomatoes but very much activated by the conditions that they require in season. I have never seen grey mold on a seedling, maybe for two reasons: (1) the environment in spring is less conducive to the mold, and (2) the seedlings have a healthy "immune" status, and beneficial microbial community outweighs any stray spore that may have landed on the seeds. And a third reason might be (3) grey mold colonizes aerial parts of the plant so a seed planted in the earth and sprouting roots is not in the favorable environment for the mold to develop.

I think if you took a seed and actually rolled it in dried up moldy tomato parts, you might have different results, just because the nasty spores would outnumber the beneficials.

Since grey mold doesn't live inside the seed coat, the best way to prevent any possibility of transmission via seeds would be to bleach treat them just prior to sowing. I believe it does reduce germination by a small percent, but is practiced by many growers, to remove all surface pathogens from seeds at planting time.

OTOH, rereading your question, I would not recommend saving seeds from fruit affected by grey mold.

Last edited by bower; April 16, 2018 at 07:48 AM. Reason: add
bower is offline   Reply With Quote