Temperature and time affect the release and quality of seed from cones of lodgepole pine from Alberta

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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine how optimum seed release, with minimum resultant loss of seed viability, could be obtained in nursery extraction of lodgepole pine (Pinuscontorta Dougl. var. latifolia Engelm.) seed from Alberta. Temperatures between 60.0 and 82.2 °C were used and cones were kept in kilns for 4, 6, and 8 h. The cones were soaked in 50 °C water for 5 min before being placed in the kilns. As the temperatures were raised from 60.0 to 82.2 °C, seed release from cones increased from 20% to full seed release. Full seed release was defined as maximum seed yield under the given test conditions, realizing that a small but undetermined amount of seed was not released. Average germination dropped from about 85 to less than 40% over this same temperature range. The best average seed release and average germination, called seed value, approached 80% when cones were exposed to 69 °C for 8 h in the kiln. It is suggested that temperatures slightly lower than 69 °C be used and that kiln times be increased to about 12 h. This might yield seed values approaching 90%.

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