Trent, Andy ; Kuhn, Tyler ; Burr, Karen E.. 2005. Improved Whitebark Pine Seed Scarifier. 0524 2331. Missoula, MT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National Technology and Development Program. 6 p.
Describes a new scarifier that can lightly sand whitebark pine seed to increase the germination rate. Whitebark pine seed that has not been scarified (sanded or nicked) is much less likely to germinate than seed that has been scarified. Traditionally, workers have nicked whitebark pine seed by hand. The original scarifier developed by the Missoula Technology and Development Center (see Whitebark Pine Seed Scarifier, 0224–2332–MTDC) nicked seeds about three times as fast as the fastest worker. However, the original scarifier had to be tended while it was running, broke down on occasion, and couldn't handle all sizes and shapes of seed. The new scarifier costs less to manufacture (about $1,000), can handle all sizes and shapes of seed, is more reliable, and doesn't have to be tended while it is operating, a big labor savings. The new scarifier sands the seed using sandpaper in the bottom of four coffee cans mounted on a rotating disc. Tests at the Forest Service's Coeur d'Alene Nursery showed that 72 percent of the seed sanded for 3 hours at 110 revolutions per minute germinated, slightly less than the 73 percent that germinated when seeds were nicked by hand, and dramatically more than the 43 percent that germinated when the seed was neither sanded nor nicked.
Keywords: equipment, germination, grizzly bears, nurseries, reforestation
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