Growing and preserving coca seeds

When the coca plant is about 18 months old, it will begin to bloom, yellow-white flowers will begin to appear. Coca plants are both male and female, but cannot self-pollinate. Another plant is needed for pollination. This means that two cuttings taken from the same parent plant will not be able to pollinate each other. If you have plants grown from seeds, they will be able to pollinate each other without any problems. In order to speed up flowering, it is necessary to stop picking the leaves from the plant. Thus, it will save energy for flowering and seed production. Insects are needed to pollinate flowers. If the flower is pollinated, a green berry will soon appear, which will turn red like a cherry within 3 months. It’s harvest time. The seed is in the berry, it is necessary to remove the pulp of the berry, otherwise the seed may begin to rot. The most likely way to get a germinating seed is to feed a red berry to a bird.

The bird’s stomach will digest the pulp from the seeds. In the stomach, the seeds will become acidic, making it difficult for bacteria and mold to enter them when they are planted in the ground. If you don’t have a bird, there is an alternative. This method will increase the lifespan of your seeds. Dirty, uncleaned seeds do not live more than 4 weeks, as bacteria and mold will keep them from germinating. Canned seeds live up to 6 months. To do this, remove the pulp from the seeds and put in a glass dish. Take a whole lemon with peel and cut it with a knife until you get porridge. Mix the seeds with lemon porridge and place in a dark, warm (30 Celsius) place. After two days, rinse the seeds with water and dry on a paper towel. Now let the seeds dry for another two days. The best way to store seeds is in a paper envelope, at 15 degrees Celsius, in the dark, with low relative humidity. Seeds can be stored for about 6 months, after which the viability of the seeds decreases sharply.