16 SEED TESTING INTERNATIONAL www.seedtest.org ASSOCIATION NEWS Daniela Villa gives the report from the Moisture Committee Presenters from the first day of Technical Committee presentations and ISTA Executive Committee liasions The Flower Seed Committee (FSC) is planning a survey on flower seed testing, which will be sent out this autumn. If you would like to take part in the questionnaire, please contact Alessandra Barbante (alessandra.barbante@crea.gov.it) or Sarah Dammen (FSC.chair@ista.ch). As an addition to the ISTA Handbook on Flower Seed Testing, FSC member Angelique Juret has worked on 13 new species and identified eight more species to focus on in the coming year. The Seed Health Committee (SHC) is planning to introduce method-based instead of protocol- based accreditation. The idea is to install regional centres of excellence to organise regional Comparative Tests (CT) and PTs. The SHC will focus more on reviewing existing methods than on producing new ones. The Committee has also submitted a project proposal for a seed health web-based platform. This website would include a platform to share seeds, an unknown- pathogen image identification tool, a seed health community forum and the existing Seed Health Test Image Database. Incorporation of the ISTA Reference Pest List in a database format for the platform is under investigation. The Statistics Committee (STA) is currently very busy revising the method validation documents and developing a new ISTA paradigm that integrates biological variability, especially as seen in tree and wild species. The aim is to distinguish biological variability from true heterogeneity, which can be achieved using beta- binomial models. The Seed Storage Committee (STO) is close to finalising its seed storage handbook, with the aim of publishing it next year. The Committee has also submitted a project proposal to the ISTA Strategic Initiative Fund based on the rule that, after testing a seed sample for an ISTA Certificate, the remainder of the sample must be stored for at least one year. The aims of the project are: • To recommend storage methods that prevent significant changes in sample quality for at least one year; • To propose an ISTA rule on controlled sample storage after initial testing; • For crops where seed quality traits change within one year, to provide recommendations for a shorter period during which retesting can be requested. The Tetrazolium Committee (TEZ) is close to finalising the new edition of the ISTA Working Sheets on Tetrazolium Testing for agricultural crops, and plans to publish three new tutorial videos providing the possibility for e-learning to technicians in the laboratories. They are also working on a new tetrazolium method for Moringa oleifera. The Variety Committee (VAR) is currently working on the validation of new Lolium markers. For this, the Committee is looking for laboratories using digital PCR (dPCR) to take part in a validation study. If you have expertise in dPCR, please contact the VAR Committee at VAR.chair@ista.ch. Due to the high costs of dPCR, the question was raised whether a SNP- based method could be used. The Committee will investigate this option. If you have a SNP-based method that you would like to see included in the ISTA Rules, please also contact the Committee. Together with ATC, VAR is looking at the use of AI for variety identification, starting with barley and wheat varieties. The Committee is also working on a completely new DNA handbook. At the end of last year, the Wild Species Committee (WSC) released its web application for a wild seeds testing protocol database
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