SEED SCIENCE AND EDUCATION
I
n seed testing, most decisions are made from a single number. 
Germination percentage. A simple metric that tells you how many seeds 
produced normal seedlings under ideal conditions. It’s necessary. It’s stand­
ardized. 
But in the field, performance is rarely that simple.
The first year, the rye stand didn’t look right. Uneven. Thin. Slower to 
establish. There were reasonable explanations: weather, planting timing, 
crop cover variability. Nothing pointed to the seed itself.
So the plan was to try again. 
Before planting, the seed was submitted for testing. The results 
came back within range. And that’s often where decisions get made.
Most reports stop at the percentage of normal seedlings. What isn’t 
reported are the abnormal seedlings, or the patterns behind what failed 
and why. Even less often are the fungi observed, described in a way 
that connects to field performance.
Looking deeper at this rye, there were signs. Evidence of Fusarium 
pressure. Indicators of stress during seed development. The kind of fac­
tors that don’t always push germination out of specification but can still 
show up in the field.
So instead of sending the report, we picked up the phone.
We talked through what we were seeing. What those abnormali­
ties suggested. What the presence of fungi could mean, not just for 
emergence, but for what might carry forward if that seed was saved and 
replanted.
Because that’s the part that often gets missed.
When infected seed goes back into the ground, it doesn’t just affect that 
season. It carries forward.
The options weren’t perfect. Increasing seeding rates might offset stand 
loss but could also increase disease pressure. Treatment could help, but 
would add cost and wouldn’t undo everything that had already happened. 
Adjustments in management could reduce risk, but only if they were made 
intentionally.
There wasn’t a clean answer. But there was a clear 
picture. They made changes and accounted for 
the risk instead of assuming it away.
The following season, the stand told a dif­
ferent story; more uniform, more consistent, 
fewer surprises. Not because the seed was 
perfect. Because the decision was better.
At the Iowa State University Seed 
Science Center, our role is about more than 
generating results. Our reports go beyond 
a single germination number to include the 
abnormalities, patterns, and biological signals 
that influence real-world performance. And we 
work with our customers to interpret what those 
signals mean.
Because data doesn’t end at the lab. It shows 
up in the field.
32  / SEEDWORLD.COM  INTERNATIONAL EDITION 2026
Your data 
	 doesn’t end
	 	  at the lab
Jessica Blake
Senior Seed Quality and Operations Specialist, 
Iowa State University

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