Oryza nivara (a wild progenitor of cultivated rice) is germinating

Oryza nivara (a wild progenitor of cultivated rice) is germinating

Everybody but Lucas is on vacation these days so I am trying to help as much as I can to keep the lab working. Last week, I did MicroResp (again) on pea and this week I am trying to germinate three species of wild rice for Johan’s M.Sc. project. However, it is not going that well…

One of the species has not at all germinated, i.e. the germination rate is 0.00%. I am not sure what to do about it but for the time being I have kept the seeds moist, in darkness and at 30 degrees. I think all of them have been heat-treated for 5-10 days at 50 degrees, which seems to be a standard protocol at IRRI. Nevertheless, some of them choose not to germinate at all. Fortunately, Oryza nivara shown on the photo seems relatively happy; I think at least half of the seeds had germinated and some more are underway. Another species also seems to produce a few seedlings but I am not sure that 7-8 plants are enough for Johan to include the species with full replication of all measurements. Maybe there is a reason why so few people are working with the wild relatives?