Question

What are the procedures for testing seed germination?

Answer 1

The most common test is a warm germination test because it is required by seed laws to appear on the label. The percentage of germinating seed in a Warm germination test must be printed on the label of the seed if it is to be sold as seed. The Warm germination test reflects the field emergence potential of a seed lot under ideal planting conditions. Usually 400 seed from each seed lot are placed under moist conditions on blotters, rolled towels, or sand and maintained about 75to 85 degrees F for about seven days in most of the cases. At the end of this period the seedlings are categorized normal, abnormal, or diseased, and dead or hard seeds. The percentage germination is calculated from the number of normal seedlings from the total number of seeds evaluated. The method of testing germination is discussed below.         
 
                                          The first and foremost step is to draw a true representative sample from the seed lot. To obtain a random sample for testing it is always best to take samples from different parts of the bag or container. If the seed to be tested is from a seed lot that contains more than one bag, samples must be taken from several bags. A good rule of thumb for determining how many bags to sample is to take samples from a number of bags that represents the square root of the lot size. For example if the lot contains 100 bags, the sample at least three bags. If the lot contains 100 bags, the sample at least 10bags. The sample thus drawn is further divided and the required numbers of seeds are the taken to perform the actual test.


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