Sterile Water for Plants

Sterilizing Water

• To sterilize water at home, heat it to 212 degrees Fahrenheit. Keep the water boiling for at least 10 minutes to kill bacteria. Alternately, pour water in a container and cover it loosely. Place it in a pressure cooker, add some water and cook at high pressure for 15 minutes. Tighten the container lid after the heating process ends. It's best to use sterilized water immediately, but you can store it temporarily in a tightly covered, sterile container.

Propagation

• Micropropagation cultures tiny, actively growing plant parts within a sterile environment. Many plant species can be micropropagated -- though with varying degrees of ease -- including African violets, ferns, orchids, chrysanthemums, rhododendrons and coleus. During micropropagation, a piece of the plant’s shoot, leaf, bud, rhizome or root -- known as the explant -- is disinfected with a bleach solution that kills bacteria and fungi. Bleach solution left on the explant causes tissue damage, so it must be rinsed with sterile water in order to remove chemicals without recontamination. After a sterile water rinse, the explant is placed into growing media to start the propagation process. Similarly, plants used for budding or grafting propagation are often disinfected using harsh chemicals.

Culturing Beneficial Organisms

• Sterile water can help culture beneficial organisms that help plants thrive. For example, a bacteria known as Rhizobium attaches to the roots of bean plants, creating nodules that help transfer nitrogen from the air to the soil around the plants. These microbiotic organisms essentially create a natural fertilizer source for bean plants and the other plant species that grow around them. Though it occurs naturally, you can increase the number of nodules by inoculating bean seeds in Rhizobium before planting. After sterilizing the nodules, crush them in sterile water. Within a few days, colonies will form. Add more sterile water and soak bean seeds in the mixture prior to planting.

Diagnosing Plant Diseases

• Sterile water can be used to identify certain plant diseases. Specifically, fungi known as Oomycetes or water molds cause rot diseases in many fruit plants and seedlings, but the time and conditions involved in transporting a sample to a laboratory make diagnosis difficult. If the diseased plant tissue is first placed in a covered petri dish full of sterile water, fungal colonies will appear within 24 to 48 hours if Oomycetes are present, simplifying the diagnosis process.