b'Why Record Keeping is a JODEE KARLOWSKY Secret Seed Quality WeaponGENERAL MANAGER, ALLIANCE SEED WHERE 2021 WAS virtually devoidcome together to dictate seed jkarlowsky@allianceseed.com of disease pressure in manyquality. Its good to get in the@AllianceSeed areas due to the dry conditionshabit of keeping field records if allianceseed.comexperienced, 2022 has been ayou dont already. Records are different story. In Manitoba andimportant! As seed analysts, parts of Saskatchewan, condi- we always try to correlate crop Why Plant Breederstions were very favourablefield growth conditions and for disease outbreaks. Manyestablish a link to what we see Deserve More Credit growers applied fungicides pre- at the end of the season from emptively to contain or slow theclients submitted samples. and Also More Funding spread of disease. Disease test- We encourage grow-ing is very important this year. ersboth farmers and seed Whats also hugely important isgrowersto keep records of AGRICULTURE IS FULL of unsung heroes: men andrecord keeping. Why?their fields. Were any of the women who invest all of themselves in protect- Due to the excess mois- fields exposed to hail damage, ing the land, feeding the world, and improvingture and heat, we saw a lot offlooding, or other challenging farming. Im talking about farmers, of course, butyellowing in fields this year. Agrowth conditions? For crops Im talking also about another too-often under- number of these plants werethat were seeded late, the pos-appreciated group: plant breeders.expected to recover in time forsibility of plants being exposed Our Alliance Seed team invests as much timeharvest in late August and earlyto frost damage should not be as possible walking trial plots, looking closelySeptember. At the same time,ignored. It helps to keep notes at whats new and notable in upcoming varie- these conditions can contributeso that later on, when you get ties, and talking to breeders. At a recent plotto increased disease risk asyour seed test results, you can tour, I was reminded of how much work goesthese plants mature. draw conclusions and make into bringing a new variety to producers hands,There are many variablescorrelations to help explain how incredibly diverse the traits are that plantat play, which could mean lowyour seed quality.breeders are able to influence and shape, andvigour. We have seen noticeableThis year is very different how todays varieties truly are tools that makevariability in many crop fieldsfrom last. The more you know producers so much more efficient.as some fields were seeded late,about your fields and the condi-Consider how many agronomic challengesand others had to be re-seeded.tions they face, the better off have been overcome and how much yield weveWe have observed differencesyou will be during and after gained over the past two decades in almostin the physiological maturitiesharvest.all crops. Now breeders are focusing on majorof crops from the same field, improvements in everything from drought toler- which may result in pockets ance to disease resistance. of low vigour when the seed Plant breeders need two things from industry:is finally harvested. We are information and direct support. Seed compa- strongly recommending that all nies, especially smaller ones like ours that areproducers test for vigour this more directly connected to producers, play anyear.important role as information conduits betweenIn preparation for 2023, we producers and plant breeders.expect all these variables to We want to hear what producers need, value and prioritize, since thats the information that, once we pass it on to breeders, will fundamen-tally shape the direction of breeding programs.MOSES PALMER Breeders need support in the forms of trial loca- SENIOR SEED ANALYST & tions industry relationships, and yes, financialLABORATORY MANAGER, 20/20 support through your continued annual certifiedSEED LABS seed purchases. Plant breeders arent doing theirMoses@2020seedlabs.ca work for us; theyre doing it with us.@2020Seedlabs2020seedlabs.ca20GERMINATION.CASEPTEMBER 2022'