55
SEED TESTING INTERNATIONAL APRIL 2026
• TRAINING AND EDUCATION
THE ISTA PURITY COMMITTEE, IN 
COLLABORATION WITH LOCAL HOST 
SEED QUALITY SERVICES LABORATORY 
(ZAML0600), KLEIN KAROO SEED 
PRODUCTION, organised a workshop on 
purity analysis and seed identification for 
intermediate level, held in Oudtshoorn, South 
Africa in September 2025. The workshop was 
led by Dr Ruojing Wang (Chair of ISTA Purity 
Committee 2019–2025), working jointly with 
Augusto Martinelli (ISTA Purity Committee 
member) and Jennifer Neudorf, a subject expert 
from ISTA Member Laboratory CADL08. This 
ISTA purity workshop was the first of its kind to 
be held in Africa.
The workshop was in high demand, with 29 
participants from African countries including 
Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, 
Zimbabwe, and from the host country South 
Africa. It took place at the well-equipped facility 
of Klein Karoo Seed Production. The staff of the 
Seed Quality Services Laboratory contributed 
to the preparation of large exercise samples and 
day-to-day hospitality for the workshops, under 
the excellent coordination of the Head of the 
Laboratory, Claudia Falch.
The workshop covered a content of:
• How to build seed identification resources 
and references, including reference specimen 
collection and management
• Advanced seed morphology and identification 
knowledge sharing, with application to common 
plant families and species of Brassicaceae, 
Fabaceae and Poaceae
• Practical steps for identification of unknown 
seeds
• International Rules for Seed Testing (ISTA Rules) 
and explanations on purity analysis and other 
seed determination (OSD), such as pure seed 
definitions (PSD), coated seeds and seed mixture 
testing
• Forum on method innovations in purity 
analysis and OSD
Interactive exchanges between participants 
and lecturers, and among participants, were 
ISTA Workshop: on Purity and Other Seed  
Determination 
9–11 September 2025, Oudtshoorn, South Africa
Ruojing Wang1, Claudia Falch2, Augusto Martinelli3 and Jennifer Neudorf1
1Seed Science and Technology Section, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Canada
2Seed Quality Services Laboratory, Klein Karoo Seed Production, South Africa
3Consultant in seed laboratory audits and testing, Argentina
Workshop participants
Local host Claudia Falch

View this content as a flipbook by clicking here.