b'S T R A T E G Y A featured segment designed to help you in the realm of retail seed sales. Uniformity Presents Challenges for TestingIndustry survey examines variation in seed test results from seed testing laboratories. Joe Funk THE OVERALL LEVELout-of-tolerance tests, recalls of seed testing uniformityJason Goltz, president of the depends upon what aspectsAssociation of American Seed of testing are measured,Control Officials (AASCO). which crops are being testedAt the 2019 AASCO Annual and maybe even who youMeeting, we had a facilitated ask. The simpler the testdiscussion and decided to being performed and thedo a study to see if there was easier the crop being tested,an actual pattern of out-of-the test results will gener- tolerance results, or were the ally display less variation.claims merely anecdotal? Conversely, the more chal- We found that some labs are lenging the crop, e.g., nativeout of tolerance more than species with seed dormancyothers. The next question was, and the more complex theWhy?test, e.g., TZ viability test, the less uniformity there is likelyVariability in Seed Testing to be among multiple tests. SurveyUniformity has been aThe topic of seed lab challenge in seed testing everUniformity in seed testing is important to ensure seed quality. uniformity has been a point since seed testing startedof discussion for many years, in the late 1800s. It gets toquate representation of thethat are needed only rightbut it was always anecdotal. be a real challenge becauseentire lot of seed, neither willafter harvest. Winter wheat,At the AASCO 2019 annual even if everybody followsthe lab results be representa- for example, has short-livedmeeting, the organization all the current standardizedtive of the quality of the seeddormancy. These freshlypassed a resolution to methods, there is naturallot. It is important that theharvested seeds need to beconduct a formal study to variation when dealing withsampler follow governmentexposed to cold temperaturesassess the extent of variability seed, a living entity, saysand seed industry official sam- to break that short-lived dor- in seed testing. Designated David Johnston, president,pling protocols established bymancy. If a lab does not knowas the Variation in Purity, Association of Official SeedAASCO or other governmen- that the seed is freshly har- Viability and Foreign Seed Analysts (AOSA). Take, fortal organizations. vested seed, the sample mayResults Among Seed Testing example, the germination test.It is also important tonot get the necessary prechillLaboratories, the survey was It is a snapshot in time. Seed isprovide as much informationand germination results couldlaunched in late 2019.not static; it is a dynamic com- as possible to the laboratorybe a lot lower than expected. The opportunity for a modity. It is always changingwhen submitting the sampleSeed regulators started topartnership with the state to some degree. for testing. notice, over time, that someseed control officials in a Heidi Larson, president oflab reports associated withproject such as this allowed Start with the Sample the Society for Commercialseed labels appeared to havethe resulting data to be used The results from a seed testingSeed Technologists (SCST),a higher rate of out of toler- to move the discussions to the lab are only as reliable as thenotes dormancy changes asance test results, but nobodynext levelbetween industry, sample submitted for testing.the seed ages. Some specieswas keeping a record. Therelabs, and regulatory officials, If the sample is not an ade- have dormancy requirementswas no master record ofsays Pat Miller, the American 44/ SEEDWORLD.COMJUNE 2021'