b'PARTNER CONTENTWhy the V-Word is More Complicated Than People ThinkT he V-word has been used a lot lately, with harvest season either complete or underway and people already looking ahead to 2023. The word, of course, is vigour. It also made head- SOME EXAMPLES OF VIGOUR TESTSlines earlier this year after reports of poor vigour among certain canola hybrids caused a stir among growers. Conductivity test. This is a measurement of electrolytes Every year I inevitably get asked, So, do you guys have a testleaking from seeds. Changes in the organization of cell for vigour yet? The reality is, there exists no single vigour test formembranes occur during the development of seeds prior all species. Contrary to popular belief, germination tests are theto physiological maturity, seed desiccation before harvest, samewe dont do a germination test identically for every crop.and during imbibition (uptake of water by the seed) prior to germination. Accelerated aging test. This test exposes seeds for short periods to two environmental variableshigh temperature and high relative humiditywhich cause rapid seed deterioration.The staff of Seed Check Technologies conduct a range of vigour tests.Controlled deterioration test. This test determines vigour The fact we have multiple tests for vigour is not an indicatorand predicts field emergence. Like the accelerated aging that innovation is lacking in the seed testing space; in fact, its thetest, it subjects the seed to conditions of high moisture opposite. With vigour being a more sensitive index of seed qual- and humidity, but the moisture is kept constant. Seed lots ity, its even more important that we that we have multiple testswith high vigour should be able to withstand these stress for multiple crop kinds. conditions and will deteriorate at a slower rate than lots So what exactly is vigour? Very simply put, its one of the twowith worse vigour.basic seed tests, the other being germination. Germination is the ability of a seed under ideal conditions to emerge and developRadical emergence into a healthy plant. With vigour, were looking for the seeds/ test. This test quantifies seedlings to develop in a wide range of environments, and inroot protrusion, which some cases gauge how well those seeds store. Vigour tests arecan offer insights when quite a bit different than germination tests.it comes to vigour, Once weve determined acceptable germination, we need togermination capacity ensure the seed will perform under different environmental condi- and seed lot uniformity. tions. Will it grow rapidly and uniformly? Will it store? Its always a good idea to test seed for vigour. As a germina- Tetrazolium viability test. A seed is soaked in water to tion test gives the seed the best possible chance to grow, vigourwhich a substance called tetrazolium chloride has been testing is what really tells you how that seed is able to surviveadded. After soaking, we then cut through the seed to under adverse conditions.allow the tetrazolium to seep into the seed tissue. Living If youve had challenging harvest conditions, its a good ideatissue stains red while dead tissue does not stain at all. to check vigour in the fall and again in the spring, just to seeBased upon the colour and location of dead or injured where youre at before you begin to sell.tissue, a potential germination percentage can then be While no seed lab can predict every single condition that adetermined.seed lot is going into, vigour testing is certainly a valuable tool in the toolbox to know how seed will perform in less-than-perfectMorgan Webb is owner/senior seed analyst at Seed conditions.Check Technologies. Visit seedcheck.net for more info!And lets face itin the field, conditions are rarely perfect. SEPTEMBER 2022GERMINATION.CA 25'