SEED DISINFECTION FOE PURE CULTURE WORK 



THE USE OF HYPOCHLORITES 



B. M. DUGGAR 



Physiologist to the Missouri Botanical Garden, m Charge of Graduate Laboratory 



Professor of Plant Physiology m the Henry Sham School of Botany of 



Washington University 



and ANNE W. DAVIS 



Formerly Research Assistant to the Missouri Botanical Garden 



Introductory 



For a long time it has been clear that much light may be 

 thrown on many fundamental problems in seed plant nutrition 

 as well as in physiological pathology through the use of pure 

 cultures of certain seed plants. In those cases where the seed 

 are produced in pods, solid fruits, or within other thoroughly 

 protective coverings, it is, as a rule, a relatively simple mat- 

 ter to secure seed in season entirely free from contamination. 

 It is only necessary to employ the usual bacteriological pre- 

 cautions, opening the maturing pods or fruits with care and 

 removing the seed to sterile containers, in which they may be 

 kept until required. Beans, peas, radishes, tobacco, tomatoes, 

 and various cucurbits or melons are among those plants easily 

 handled in this way. The difficulty, however, even with these 

 seed, lies in anticipating what may be needed out of season. 

 With the majority of seed, moreover, it would not be prac- 

 ticable to use the isolation method either because of structural 

 difficulties or of inaccessibility of fruiting plants. 



The experiments of Wilson 1 on the use of commercial 

 chloride of lime (in part calcium hypochlorite) have been the 

 first definite application of the value of this well-known disin- 

 fecting agent to plant physiological study with seed plants. 

 In the disinfection and antiseptic treatment of wounds, ex- 



studies have been made 



.-i 



of hypochlorous acid, the hypochlorites, and related com- 

 pounds, as a result especially of the investigations of Dakin 2 



i Wilson, J. K. Calcium hypochlorite as a seed sterilizer. Am. Jour. Bot. 

 2 : 420-427. 1915. 



2 Dakin, H. D., and E. K. Dunham. A handbook on antiseptics. 120 pp. 

 New York, 1917. 



Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard., Vol. 6, 1919 



(159) 





