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Determining seed moisture in Quercus

Informally Refereed

Abstract

The air-oven method with drying times 7 to 8 hours shorter than those now prescribed in the ISTA rules proved adequate for determining moisture contents in acorns of several North American oaks. Schedules of 8 hours at 105°C for Quercus muehlenbergii and 9 hours at 105°C for Q.shumardii and Q.nigra gave moisture contents within three percentage points of those obtained by toluene distillation. Eight hours at 105°C was accurate only to within six percentage points for Q.alba, apparently because of extreme variation in moisture among individual acorns of this species. The most desirable sample size was found to be five acorns. Acorns were prepared for drying by cutting into halves or quarters. Measurements showed that from 25 to 40 % of acorn moisture was in the pericarp tissue.

Keywords

Quercus

Citation

Bonner, F. T. 1974. Determining seed moisture in Quercus. Seed Science and Technology 2:399-408.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/42554