As we come to the end of the year, I have a couple of items that were brought to my attention to share with you.

Fresh Seed

The most frequently asked question this season has been about “fresh seed”.  We will be featuring an article on fresh seed next month to help to answer those questions. Fresh seed is often observed in seed lots that have been harvested with some level of immaturity, and fresh seed is a another term for dormancy. 


Dormant Seed

Many of our clients are placing their seed samples that are destined for the laboratory for testing into the freezer for short periods of time. The general feeling is that we had so much dormancy last year, you are thinking that subjecting the seed to freezing conditions will improve the germination at this time of year and may help avoid some of the previous issues we had with unstable germinations. Using a freezer to pre-chill your samples prior to submitting them into the lab certainly helps, as it mimics the cold storage encountered in the bin. However, do not delay the submission of samples for the initial evaluation.   We should monitor seed lots very carefully after harvest with frequent germination tests. I would advise that at least three germination tests are conducted to assess the full potential of the seed under favourable field conditions. Please see our January edition for more information on when to test and please view our recent videos on germination. 

 

All the best of the season,

 

Sarah