Autoflower Germ/Seed Issues

Hey guys,
A friend of mine bought the below AF seeds from Worldwide Marijuana Seeds. As far as ordering he couldn't be happier. No issues at all.

1x White Dwarf - Feminized (dead)
1x Automatic White Moscow - Feminized (dead)
1x Lowryder #2 - Feminized (dead)
1x Easy Ryder - Feminized (dead)

1x Automatic AK47 - Feminized (alive and thriving/growing @ 7 days)

1x Taiga - Feminized (will grow as non-autoflower due to AF instability)
1x Tundra - Feminized (will grow as non-autoflower due to AF instability)

The problems happened around germ/seed. He did the typical soak in water for 24 hours until it split then germ in moist paper towel until taproot is about 1/4" then put to soil or "Rapid Rooter" type grow plug.

Everything went fine until they either went into soil (FF OF) or rapid rooter plugs. The AK was put straight into soil after germ and never had an issue. It seems to be growing fine. When he did the Easy Ryder like that it didn't sprout at all and died.

The WD, WM, and LR2 went into rapid rooters after germ and all died. They were in a humidity dome and the dome was sprayed with PH'd water 2-3 times a day. They were also under a 20/4 light scheduele under a T5. The Plan is to go to 2d x 4w x 4h cab with 400w MH/HPS with FF nutes. Humidity, intake, exhaust and stuff is more detail so if you want to know just say so. At this point there are no issues with nutes, lights, vents as none of them are really being used.

The only similarity is that when he looked at the seeds they were all "gooey" and oozing and shit. They of course didn't sprout and died.

With all that being said WTF happened? He's done bagseed this way before with no issues at all. In fact he germed too many and had to toss like 15-20 sprouts. Is it possible the paper towel was too wet and it's rotting it out or something?

I've heard about going straight to FF OF being an issue but at least the AK lived. Once the ER died when put into soil he started going straight to grow plugs with all of the germs. They of course died within a few days.

Sorry for the blabbering but I'm trying to point out all the details. Thanks for any help you can provide. kiss-ass

When you do the paper towel method or any method you want to remove from the towel /cup immediately after it cracks,don't wait for the tap root to get 1/4 inch or you have a very good chance of killing them.A seed left too long looks slimy and dark in color.Just as you described it.

When soaking we normally see white after it cracks just before paper towel. Should he skip paper towel all together? It seems to help the taproot get established in paper towel but I'm noob and don't know. =)
What about letting it sit in paper towel and letting the taproot get to maybe 1/8 of an inch or so?

What's your germ/seed method?

Thanks a lot.

Once it cracks no tap root,just cracks ,place it in your medium,some seeds crack and grow a tap root superfast,that is fine,for those that dont wait till when they crack then immediately place it in your medium and you will see how much your success rate will improve.I use a cup with water,I check after 24 hours,they usually sink after 24 hours and some will crack,if so I place in my medium if they dont and havent sank I help them sink by poking them,and check ever 12-24 hours.

I harvested a bunch of seed from some Diesel Ryder autos and found the germ rate went way up from the seeds I ordered. I ordered 10 seeds and only 6 came up. I have so damn many seeds I just stick em directly into the pucks (and anywhere else I can find a place to grow em). This is after 4 days sitting on a heat pad with a dome. The only seed that did not come up in this pic, came up today so its 100%.

when you look in the mirror who do you see you are your buddy

That makes a lot of sense. I just figured the paper towel was too moist but it makes sense that once the seed cracks it's germed and ready to plant.

Thanks a lot guys. Your comments/experiences/tips/tricks are very helpful!

Just chuck the bloody seeds in the soil

Seriously - it works fine