As we’ve discussed in other Tech On Demand videos and podcasts, the key to successfully producing high quality crops often starts at the very beginning. How you and your team approach the earliest stages of germination and propagation sets the stage for uniformity down the line. We’re pleased to welcome back frequent guest Dr. Will Healy. Will recently retired as Senior Manager of Ball’s technical services group but continues to think about ways to share his knowledge and decades of experience working with growers of all shapes and sizes. This time, he's here to focus on seed-raised petunias.

FULL VIDEO LINK: https://youtu.be/ulOD0qDeePs?si=AOe9KD4UCF8VvmQM

Will begins by explaining the germination process, defining terms and talking about the importance of melting the coating on pelleted seeds (like petunias). After establishing the importance of proper moisture management melt pellets effectively, he digs deeper into flat filling and seeding best practices including properly centering the seed in each cell and NOT BURYING PETUNIA SEED, which can be more challenging than it sounds. Then the discussion turns to building a strong root system and avoiding “root running” or failure to root. As cotyledons begin to emerge, attention must be paid to the goal of achieving uniform petunia stands and again, it comes back to irrigation to prevent drying. By day 8 in the germination process, your petunias should be off to a strong start, setting the crop up for success.

Resources:

Training Your Team to Water Properly (VIDEO): https://youtu.be/SCPPT0IXlLY?si=qh5wqFp7dF8Xmx1q

Mystery Solved! Slime, Moss and Algae (VIDEO): https://youtu.be/Qjh0BcwkqqI?si=2pftpc_IEgJHLO-S

Starting Strong with Seed Propagation (VIDEO): https://youtu.be/cH-lbXGn24U?si=2wRz6VsYM7_NDJMS