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SEED TESTING INTERNATIONAL   www.seedtest.org
THE YEAR 2026 MARKS THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF 
LABORATORY SEED TESTING ON POLISH TERRITORY. This 
milestone traces back to the Halina Agricultural School, founded by Count 
August Cieszkowski (1814–1894) and named after his late wife. The school 
established the country’s first Seed Testing Station in Zabikowo, near  
Poznan, in 1876 – a date now recognised as the birth of laboratory seed 
testing on Polish territory.
August Cieszkowski – Founder and Patron of 
Agriculture
The Halina Agricultural School in  Zabikowo opened its doors in 1870. 
Count Cieszkowski was a distinguished philosopher, social and economic 
reformer, and a dedicated patron of Polish agriculture. The  Zabikowo 
school quickly became a leading institution for educating future farmers 
and agricultural specialists, while also serving as the birthplace of 
systematic seed quality testing in Poland.
“The abikowo school quickly became a leading 
institution for educating future farmers and 
agricultural specialists, while also serving as  
the birthplace of systematic seed quality  
testing in Poland.”
abikowo 1876 – Beginning of the Story
The faculty of the Halina Agricultural School included Dr Antoni 
Sempołowski and Dr Feliks Szczesny Kudelka, among others. They were 
Poland’s first authors of works in the field of seed science. In 1876 they 
initiated the operations of Poland’s first Seed Testing Station in Zabikowo. 
Research conducted there included testing of seed purity and germination. 
150 Years of Seed Testing in Poland
1Head of Seed Reference Laboratory, Main Inspectorate of Plant Health and Seed Inspection (GIORiN); i.gera@piorin.gov.pl
2Main Specialist, Seed Reference Laboratory, GIORiN; rln@piorin.gov.pl
FEATURE ARTICLE 
From 1877 to 1880, Antoni Sempołowski, a pioneer of seed science and 
plant breeding in Poland, was director of the Zabikowo Station. In 1880 he 
established a control station at the Museum of Industry and Agriculture in 
Warsaw.
Development in the Following Decades
The subsequent decades witnessed dynamic progress in seed evaluation: 
in 1882, the Agricultural Seed Control Station was merged with the Seed 
Testing Station in Zabikowo; in 1892, the first seed quality standard was 
developed, known as the seed ‘goodness norm’; in 1897, the sealing of 
legume seed bags was introduced; and in 1903, seed testing methods were 
standardised and the scope of evaluation was expanded to include field 
trials.
After World War I, the Zabikowo Seed Testing Station was relocated to  
Pozna  and incorporated into the Agricultural and Experimental Station of 
the Greater Poland Agricultural Chamber. During the interwar period, the 
station’s activities covered final certification of agricultural seeds; testing 
the sowing suitability of uncertified seeds; and testing the purity and 
moisture content of food-grade seeds. From 1935 onward, the station also 
performed final certification of vegetable seeds.
Following the restoration of independence, Poland joined the newly formed 
European Seed Testing Association in 1921, which later became ISTA in 
1924. Poland also participated in the first ISTA Congress in Cambridge.
“Following the restoration of independence, 
Poland joined the newly formed European Seed 
Testing Association in 1921, which later became 
ISTA in 1924.”
Irena Gera1 and Magdalena Andrzejak2
The building that housed the first Seed Testing Station at the Halina Agricultural School in Zabikowo

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