Farmers may want to double-check seed quality

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

As farmers across Saskatchewan gear up for another busy planting season, they can take comfort in knowing that ample quality seed exists for 2007.

However, seed experts in the province are raising the caution flag in a couple of areas, reminding growers that they need to remain diligent in sourcing their seed and using the best quality germ available.

Bruce Carriere with Discovery Seed Labs in Saskatoon says that producers using barley seed carried over from the 2005 crop should be particularly careful. He indicated that recent testing on this product is returning some very poor results.

“It went into the bin a little on the tough side, and it was a fairly cold winter last year. As soon as the temperatures started to rise, it started to crack, and it will only germinate once,” he said.

As a result, Carriere says that much of the 2005 barley seed, which may have germinated in the mid- to low-90-per-cent range last spring, is only averaging around 30 per cent this year.

This could mean some unpleasant surprises for farmers who take their seed quality for granted.

“Producers who had their seed tested a year or more ago and found it to be satisfactory, may find that as little as 30 per cent of it will come up this season,” he said.

Carriere is cautioning all farmers to test their 2005 barley if they plan on using it for seed this crop season. At this point, however, he believes that only 30 to 40 per cent of them have taken this precaution.

Field peas are the other noteworthy seed concern. Because of the hot harvest weather in 2006, many field pea crops dried very quickly, making them more susceptible to cracking and splitting. As a result, the seed may have experienced more than the usual amount of mechanical damage from cleaning and handling.

Carriere says that some peas germinating in the high-80 to low-90-per-cent range prior to cleaning are only averaging in the low-70-per-cent level afterwards.

“If you’re counting on a pre-cleaning germination, and figuring out your seeding rates based on 90 per cent rather than 75, you could be short a few plants in the field,” he stated.

Other than these two specific trends, Carriere says most of the seed he has observed so far this crop season appears to be in very good condition. “It’s some of the best germinations we’ve seen in several years.”

However, he stressed that these results represent just a broad overview, and testing on an individual basis can often produce quite different outcomes. As such, the importance of producers having their seed tested cannot be overstated.

“All of the seed labs in Saskatchewan do germ testing, and it’s often the best money a producer will spend all year,” Carriere noted.

Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food (SAF) also recommends that farmers have their seed tested at an accredited laboratory prior to planting. These tests will not only assess germination capability, but also the levels of seed-borne diseases and fungi present, as well as the vigour of the seed to respond to less than ideal growing conditions.

SAF suggests that producers visit the Commercial Seed Analysts Association of Canada Inc. website at www.seedanalysts.com for more information about seed testing. Additional material and advice from the department can be obtained from the SAF website at www.agr.gov.sk.ca, or by calling the Agriculture Knowledge Centre at 1-866-457-2377.

For more information, contact:
Bruce Carriere, owner
Discovery Seed Labs
Phone: (306) 249-4484