b'PARTNER CONTENTROOM to GROWWorrying about the cost of a germination test can really affect the results. Morgan Webb, Senior Seed Analyst, Seed CheckITS GERMINATION TESTseason and getting one of these tests might seem simple. You pay a small amount of money for a lab to germinate some of your seeds. But its important for both the lab and customer to know that trying to be too efficient with the cost of doing a germi-nation test can be detrimental. The object of germination testing is to determine the maximum germination potential of the seed. Testing under field conditions cannot normally be repeatable. Laboratory methods have evolved in which controlled conditions are used to give rapid and complete germina-tion for the majority of samples of a particular species.Two-hundred seeds are used in the test. The seed analyst plants pure seed under prescribed conditions for the species being tested. The seeds are incubated for a certain period of time. Then the seed analyst evaluates the test.Sounds simple, right? What could go wrong?Potentially a lot, if the test isnt done right.This year in particular, I am seeing germination tests take up to two weeks to complete from start to finish. Dormancy is a factor in this, in addition to frost damage after last years tough harvest. Theres a lot of diseased seed out there, and what con-cerns me this year is the possibility of secondary infection that can occur during a germination test if the test isnt done adequately.If seeds are placed too close together during a test, secondary infection can occur. A mould will appear that might make one think a specific set of seeds is responsi-ble, when in fact that towel or sheet of paper was infected by another batch of seeds located in very close proximity. Spacing seeds out further for a germination test can help avoid the Its common practice in the seed testing industry toproblem of secondary infection during the test, which could potentially be plant 100 seeds on a 6 x 6-inch piece of testing papera big problem this year as disease is prevalent.with two replicates being used, making up the total of 200 seeds used in an average test.to which seedlings are normal. This results in a far more Its our practice to plant 50 seeds in a 10 x 12-inchaccurate test.area and do four replicates. Still 200 seeds, but we spreadIts a good idea to ask your seed lab of choice how far them out twice as far, making them easy to evaluate andthey spread their seeds out when doing a germination ensuring secondary infection doesnt become a factor. Ittest. Even for a simple test like this, taking extra time also allows us to extend tests to get a better evaluation asand care to do it makes all the difference. MARCH 2020 GERMINATION.CA 15'