b'Want to hear the entire conversation and dive into the biggest culprits Patin and Blois find in a year and the causes behind them? Listen at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF6_A9hhOsUHealthy Seed Gives YouPeace-of-Mind Throughout the SeasonSeed testing gives you the relief of having healthy seed for customers.Alex MartinTHOUGH THEseed industry knows quiteboth agreemost companies go above and a bit about required tests the seed must gobeyond in terms of seed testing.through to make it to a farmers field, going aboveDifferent clients have some requirements that and beyond in seed testing ensures fields get theare above and beyond, says Blois. Vigor isnt right agronomic start.included on those grade tables, nor is herbicide Seed testing helps minimize risk, determinestolerance.quality issues and identifies possible problems forWhen it comes to setting your seed tests up potential claim complaints, says Amanda Patin,for success, it actually starts with your sample. key account manager with SGS North America.If something goes wrong with your sample, you Along with this, youre looking at producing highmight not get an accurate test result.quality seed free of disease and weeds that hasThe main things you need to look for, are strong germination and vigor to give you a com- making sure youre using the proper sampling petitive edge.equipment and that your equipment is clean But, proper seed assessment isnt just monitor- before using it, says Patin. From there, you need ing germination and vigor. Another aspect is moni- to ensure youre sampling enough areas through-toring trendsespecially in seedborne diseasesout the seed lot. Amanda Patin serves asfrom year-to-year, according to Trevor Blois.If you arent cleaning your equipment, especiallykey account manager Usually with most of the crops, were looking atwhen it comes to disease testing, potential sporesfor SGS North America.one big pathogen, but in any given year, there canor pathogens could remain present in your seed be other problem pathogens, Blois, supervisor ofsample. Sanitizing your equipment and ensuring it the Disease Department at 20/20 Seed Labs, says.is clean protects your lot from any contamination Were also looking at trends from year to year,that could lead to misdiagnosis, especially during whether or not theres some sort of issue thatsthe U.S.s national seed health test, which includes emerging as the testing season progresses. a visual component. In Canada, these problems typically are deter- Were only testing 200 seeds out of an entire mined from grain growing and harvest conditionsseed lot, Blois says, noting that if youre only test-of the year. Typically, because of that, the diagnosising one small section of a field that could have isnt a surprise because its based on problemsmore disease present, you wont get a proper being seen in the field as well.representation of the entire lot. Its always good When it comes to testing across North America,to have more samples and test multiple times there are a few standards to note. In Canada,throughout the season as welleven within that requirements are set out in the grade tables pro- time period, we see disease levels changing. vided by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency,Realistically though, all these standards aim to which includes the standards for germination andproduce the healthiest seed possible. And, start-purity. In the U.S., required tests vary from speciesing the year with seed health top-of-mind gets aTrevor Blois is to species and from state to state. Typically, seedcompany a competitive edge and gives customerssupervisor of the companies follow whats required for the federala leg in the game.Disease Department at seed label, as well as state requirements. If look- Were not only starting with healthy seed, but20/20 Seed Labs. ing to ship internationally, a company can performdisease-free seed, says Patin. Its just like us. If we testing following the International Seed Testinghave a cold, were more prone to have an infection Associations requirements and the Canadiantakeover. If you dont have vigor and vitality as a Methods and Procedures for Testing Seed.high-quality seed unit, youre going to be more Those requirements being said, Blois and Patinprone to disease.SW76/ SEEDWORLD.COMDECEMBER 2022'