Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84JANUARY 2017 SEEDWORLD.COM / 41 FOR ANYONE WORKING in research, sample quality and integrity is crucial. It can mean the difference between success and failure in the seed business. When we talk about sample quality in plot harvesting, there are a few key factors: Integrity of the sample — grain should not been damaged or broken during the harvesting process, and forage materials should be cleanly cut. Cleanliness — there should not be a great deal of chaff, pods, or straw with the sample.  Volume — this one is often misunder- stood. I don’t necessarily mean just the amount of the sample that is collected during the sample-taking process, but also the volume of the plot that is actually captured by the combine or harvesting equipment during the harvesting process. If any of these three factors are not up- to-par, bad data can result. If the threshing function of a combine isn’t working prop- erly, the integrity of the grain can be com- promised. Grain can become scratched or broken. In the instance of grass and forage harvesting, a clean and complete cut is important. If a harvested sample is not clean, it can impact other data. For instance, moisture readings would be inaccurate if the sample contained a lot of “trash”. If the harvesting equipment is leav- ing or losing harvested material, then yield data is not accurate. I have spoken with many researchers who are still harvesting by hand, primarily because they either don’t have the budget for proper equipment or they simply haven’t yet found equipment that works efficiently for them.  For instance, people who work with very small seed often think they can’t use a combine. We have been able to show them that a good machine with the right SEED RESEARCH EQUIPMENT Taking Quality Samples Requires Quality Equipment TAMRA BOUCHER HALDRUP USA MANAGING DIRECTOR tamra.boucher@haldrup.net • www.haldrup.net features and settings can cut harvesting time to a mere fraction of what they are accustomed to. Processes that they have previously counted in days can be counted in hours with proper equipment. Data drives research, so good data is a key component to success. Another key issue is cost. Time is money, so time spent on cleaning samples or sifting through them to remove damaged grain is money lost. Besides, who really wants to spend their time doing tedious tasks like this?  Quality research equipment leads to quality samples, and having quality equip- ment — equipment which meets the objec- tives above, doesn’t break down, and, by the way, includes a few creature comforts like efficient air conditioning and a quiet environment — leads to happy research- ers! From an employer perspective, you can’t put a price on that. THERE ARE MANY IMPORTANT rea- sons to use a genetic purity test within a quality assurance testing program. Plant breeders spend years testing and trialing to determine which crosses will pro- duce a hybrid with the most sought-after characteristics. A genetic purity test serves as an important quality checkpoint to make sure that the cross happened as expected, and that a seed lot does not have contami- nation in the form of self-pollination or out- crossing. Whether you’re a plant breeder, seed producer or retailer, conducting genetic purity testing is in your best interest. Genetic quality problems can be present in a seed lot and if genetic purity testing has not been conducted, a seed producer will not have all of the information that they will need to make good decisions related to the actual quality of the seed lot. While it’s true that genetic purity is not a required component of a seed tag, geneti- cally pure seed is important to the grower. If selfing is present at a high enough level the stunted, poor-yielding inbred plants can affect the performance of the crop. If off- types are present, the result can be plants that stand out visually (tall offtypes), and maturity differences that can cause mois- ture and other performance issues in the field. Despite its importance, myths abound regarding genetic purity testing. One is, “If I don’t see a problem visually in the field, then my purity should be good.” Just because you can’t actually see a problem, doesn’t mean it’s not there. Often it’s the non-visual, genetic component that can make a big dif- ference in the performance of the seed lot. SEED HEALTH Genetic Purity Tests Help Companies Deliver on Yield Promise CRAIG NELSON VICE PRESIDENT, EUROFINS BIODIAGNOSTICS INC. CraigNelson@eurofinsUS.com • EurofinsUS.com Another common myth is that if a trans- genic seed lot’s trait purity is high, genetic purity should also be good, so why do this additional testing? The truth is that these are two entirely separate quality tests. Even if a seed lot has no trait contamination, there is no guarantee that the genetic purity will also be high. When you offer a seed product for sale, you’re putting your reputation on the line. A quality seed product is one with all of the essential components, good germination, strong vigor, plants that grow well and pro- duce high-yielding quality grain or fruit and also have the essential genetics that were breed into the hybrid. Don’t let your customers be your eyes in the field identifying your problems. Information is power — be sure you have all of the data.