b"PARTNER CONTENTHow a Seed Testing Lab Can Help in Attaining Good Plant EstablishmentBy Morgan Webb, President, Seed Check TechnologiesSEED LABS PROVIDE important services to pedigreed seedPro Tip: Get the Best Plant Stand Possiblegrowers and their clients. We rate lots and grade them so thatNumbers on a seed testing report can help you figure out those lots can be bought and sold.expected seed survival. Did you know you can use a pure living Did you know we have a second important job, and that isseed (PLS) number rather than a germination to get the most to get everyone ready for planting time and help them get goodaccurate number to attain good plant establishment? plant establishment? Seed growers and their clients can use theUsing the PLS number, you can find the amount of bulk seed information that they get from a seed testing lab to attain the bestnecessary to plant at a recommended seeding rate. To do this, plant establishment possible. take the recommended seeding rate for your planting method and Why is this important? In the age of climate change anddivide it by the percent PLS of the seed being used. The result is precision seeding, optimizing seeding operations is crucial tothe bulk weight that you will need to plant per acre to achieve the establishing crops to achieve maximum yield potential. recommended seeding rate.P-R-O-F-I-T Leverage the Power of 1,000 Seed WeightAt this time of year, its worth a refresher to know how seed test- 1,000 seed weight is the weight, in grams, of 1,000 seeds from ing can help get a crop off to a best possible start. Remember thea random sample. Its highly useful for calculating the optimal acronym P-R-O-F-I-T. seeding rate for a given crop type or variety, and it can also be used to calibrate a seed drill as well as estimate yields. Plant P Plant a GERMINATIONstands are calculated based on seeding rate, 1,000 seed weight to know the maximum mature plant establishmentand expected seed survival (includes germination and mortality). R Request a % PURE SEED test A seed lab can work with you to figure out an optimal seeding to determine % PURE LIVING SEED rate and start the season off with a good plant stand. O Order a VIGOUR test Theres been a massive shift from thinking about bushels per to determine emergence mortality acre, which is a volume, to an actual 1,000 seed weight number. Using 1,000 seed weight to calculate seeding rate can help save F Find out the variation in seed size and density on seed and plant it accordingly. with a 1,000 SEED WEIGHT testIIntegrate a TETRAZOLIUM test Seeding Ratetarget plant stand per ft2 x 1,000 seed weight (grams)for a quick estimate of viability or levels of dormancy (lbs/ac) = % expected seed survival x 10T Test for SEED HEALTH and PURITYto determine what fungal pathogens and weeds could affect your bottom line Ensure Success at PlantingIts important to remember that things overlooked during seeding Pro Tip: Harness the Power of Information cannot always be made up later in the season. If you overlook Knowing the germination percentage of a seed lot is important forsomething at the seeding stage, you effectively put a limit on the buying and selling that seed lot. When it comes to the use of thatcrop's yield potential before the plants have even come out of the seed, there are other numbers that can really come in handy. A %ground.pure seed test is a measure of the cleanness of seed, pure seedOur job at the end of the day is to make sure that things go as is separated from impure seed, and then separately weighed.well as possible for seed growers and their clients. Yes, there are Using both the germination and pure seed numbers can helpthings that that are beyond a seed labs control, like fertilizer use you figure out an important number used to determine seedingand row spacing. But there are many things that we can figure ratepure live seed (PLS). To determine the amount of pureout up front, including weed pressure, avoiding the introduction live seed in a seed bag, use the following formula: % purity x %of new weeds into a field, as well as determining levels of disease germination = %PLS. pressure in a given field.JANUARY 2023GERMINATION.CA 29"