Hydrating pea seed

[kens]

Has anyone hydrated their pea seed before seeding? The idea is to bring the moisture up one or two percent and then waiting 48 to 72 hours before seeding. This is to make the seed less susceptable to damage when augering and when going through an air delivery system. They say to hose down a truck box of peas until the water starts to run off, then let stand and the cotyledons will soften and the seed coat will dry. Any ideas on this?

[bmj182]

Yes, hydrating pea seed works great. We've done this for the last several years and it seems to keep the damage down considerably. The inoculant seems to stick better too.

[tman]

There is an article in the latest edition of Top Crop Manager (March 2002). The article is titled "Prevent cracking and splitting when seeding pulses". They talk about soaking the seed in that article. The info should be a little useful.