I, Farm Boy! Aqua Oxigenada Saves 2-Yr-Old Soybean Seeds

When Caraga Dept. of Agriculture Director Ricardo “Bong” Oñate gave me about 60 kilos of Non-GMO Soybean seeds last year, he warned me that the seeds had been kept in plastic containers for two years.
The problem with old seeds is that if these had not been properly stored, the germination rate would be very low and given the fact that the seeds given to me were the last that the DA, this presented a serious challenge.
The seeds were of two locally propagated Non-GMO Soybean varieties, the Manchuria White which was grown by farmers in Surigao del Sur and the Tudela Black which was planted by farmers in Tudela, Agusan del Sur.
My friend, Filipino-American farmer-scientist Rocky French, however, suggested an old and proven technique of “reactivating” old seeds, that is by soaking these in water with 10% Hydrogen Peroxide or Agua Oxigenada for about 30 minutes.
The technique oxygenates old seeds and literally awakens the sleeping seeds.
Just to make sure that we would have a high germination rate in the old seeds, we soaked the seeds again in water with Anaa root growth enhancer mixed with Dithane for fungal protection.
Yesterday, 15 days after we planted the old seeds in a 4-hectare Soybeans Experimental Farm in Barangay Palkan, Polomolok, South Cotabato, I saw very healthy sprouts.
Local at the density of the growing Soybeans, I estimated our germination rate at 70% to 80% which is not bad considering that the seeds had been stored for at least two years.
With God’s grace, we will be able to produce a considerable volume of seeds of these two Non-GMO Soybean varieties so we could expand the area for planting next season.

#KungGustoMaramingParaan!
(Video by Kimberly Joy D. Sarino)