Emanueli chamber: moist chamber for germination and initial seedling development

Abstract

Water is one of the essential requirements to start the germination process and should be supplied to seeds without oscillations to permit comparisons among laboratories. One way to achieve this is by means of a moist chamber for each experimental plot. Emanueli chamber is a low-cost device, designed to evaluate the germination process and the first phases of seedling development. Its advantage is that it reduces daily oscillations in the water content of the germination substrate (filter paper). It is made of two plastic cylindric containers. The larger contains water or other test solution and the smaller, bottomless, stays inside the larger one. The upper part of this smaller container is the support of the filter paper that is maintained uniform and constantly moistened by means of a continuous stem submerged in the liquid of the larger container.