Editing Sowing (section)

===Pre-treatment of seed and soil before sowing===
[[Image:GrowingAvocadoFromSeed.JPG|thumb|Tropical fruit such as [[avocado]] also benefit from special seed treatments (specifically invented for that particular tropical fruit)]]

Before sowing, certain seeds first require a treatment prior to the sowing process.
This treatment may be seed [[Scarification (botany)|scarification]], [[stratification (botany)|stratification]], [[Imbibition|seed soaking]] or seed cleaning with cold (or medium hot) water.

Seed soaking is generally done by placing seeds in medium hot water for at least 24 to up to 48 hours<ref>{{cite web|first=Ernestina|last=Parziale |url=http://earthnotes.tripod.com/seeds.htm |title=Pre-sowing treatments of seed |publisher=Earthnotes.tripod.com |access-date=2014-06-05}}</ref>
Seed cleaning is done especially with fruit, as the flesh of the fruit around the seed can quickly become prone to attack from insects or plagues.<ref>[http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/sprashu.html Sprout safety: how to combat contamination of seed] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080916114753/http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/sprashu.html |date=2008-09-16 }}</ref> Seed washing is generally done by submerging cleansed seeds 20 minutes in 50 [[Celsius|degree Celsius]] water.<ref name="ReferenceA">Exotische vruchten kweken by Dr Gabriele Lehari</ref> This (rather hot than moderately hot) water kills any organisms that may have survived on the skin of a seed. Especially with easily infected [[tropical fruit]] such as [[lychee]]s and [[rambutan]]s, seed washing with high-temperature water is vital.

In addition to the mentioned seed pretreatments, [[seed germination]] is also assisted when a disease-free soil is used. Especially when trying to germinate difficult seed (e.g. certain tropical fruit), prior treatment of the soil (along with the usage of the most suitable soil; e.g. [[potting soil]], prepared soil or other [[Substrate (biology)|substrate]]s) is vital. The two most used soil treatments are [[pasteurisation]] and [[Sterilization (microbiology)|sterilisation]]. Depending on the necessity, pasteurisation is to be preferred as this does not kill all organisms. Sterilisation can be done when trying to grow truly difficult crops. To pasteurise the soil, the soil is heated for 15 minutes in an oven of 120&nbsp;°C.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>