The Garden Party Ep. 422 with Vikram Baliga @ThePlantProf

Recalcitrant seeds are plant seeds that cannot survive drying or long-term storage and must remain moist to stay viable, unlike orthodox seeds (such as grains) that can be dehydrated and stored for decades in seed banks. This characteristic is common in tropical fruits like avocados, mangoes, coconuts, chestnuts, and rubber tree seeds, which require immediate planting after harvest rather than storage. The term 'recalcitrant' describes seeds that are resistant to the normal desiccation process that orthodox seeds undergo, making them particularly challenging for conservation and long-term storage.