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SEED CONNOISSEUR
REVISITED
Stanford Young; Michael Bouck, UCIA
Ronald Larsen; Stanley Akagi;
Terry Freeman, UDAF
Presented by:
Stanford Young, PhD
Research Professor, USU
Release (Finally) of the bulletin
“How To Be A Seed
Connoisseur”
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Compiled by
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Utah Crop Improvement Association, Utah State
University, Logan, UT
Utah State Seed Laboratory, Utah Department of
Agriculture and Food, SLC, UT
Facing any quantity of seed in bags,
totes, bulk in a truck or hopper , or
even a packet, can be daunting for a
farmer, rancher, revegetation
specialist, or gardener.
What is actually in that
container of seed?
This bulletin will explain how
to find out what is in that
container of seed.
I. How to Decipher a Seed Analysis
Label
 II. How to Comprehend a Certified
Seed Label
 III. How to Take a Representative
Seed Sample for Analysis

Analysis tag/label
required by FSA
and/or State Seed laws
for most species

I. How to decipher a seed analysis label

Where does the information on the tag/label
come from?
III. How To Take A Representative
Seed Sample For Analysis

Approximately 25,000 seeds;
Siberian wheatgrass, min. 50g
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(Noxious) working sample
50g; Purity working sample 5g
Germination test: 200 pure
seeds from purity exam
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PURE SEED
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INERT MATTER
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Broken seed,
chaff, dirt, etc.
WEED SEED
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Pure seed units
Common
Noxious (P, R)
OTHER CROP SEED
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Non-weed species
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Germination (actual)
Germination plus hard seed/dormant
seed=Total Viability
Total Viability may be estimated by
tetrazolium chloride staining, TZ Test
TZ Test
Cultivar/Germplasm
Verification Methods
Chemical/DNA Testing
 Grow-Outs
 Seed Certification
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Field grown seed
Wildland collected seed
II. How to Comprehend a Certified
Seed Label
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SI=Source Identified Germplasm
S=Selected Germplasm
T=Tested Germplasm
V=Variety
N-T=Natural Track; M-T=Manipulated Track
Germplasm Procurement for direct
planting on revegetation projects

Provenance information listed on tag
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State, county, elevation minimum info required
Species specific seed transfer zones can be
listed

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I. How to decipher a seed analysis label
II. How to comprehend a certified
seed label
How to take a representative seed sample
for analysis
For any container of seed, the primary goal of
seed laws and seed certification programs is
to make sure that “the tag is on the bag”, and
that “what's on the tag is what’s in the bag”.

Once this basic goal is met, it is up to the sower to
match the:
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Variety and/or germplasm genetics, and
Mechanical quality (purity & viability) of the seed, with
Proper geographical and environmental site
characteristics,
Proper planting techniques, and
Application of sufficient moisture
Ignoring such “seed savvy” may lead
to an unfortunate and expensive
misuse of that container of seed.
If you have read and understood
and implemented all of the
information in this bulletin,
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CONGRATULATIONS!
You are now a Seed Connoisseur!
Bulletin copies may be downloaded; Google: utahcrop.webimpakt
for now, later at www.utahcrop.org
Dr. Stanford Young, UCIA Exec. Sec./Mgr., USU stanford.young@usu.edu
Michael Bouck, UCIA Supervisor, USU michael.bouck@usu.edu
Ronald Larsen, UDAF, Seed Control Official rlarsen@utah.gov
Stanley Akagi, UDAF, AOSA Seed Analyst sakagi@utah.gov
Terry Freeman, UDAF, AOSA Seed Analyst terryfreeman@utah.gov
The preceding presentation was delivered at the
2015 National Native Seed Conference
Santa Fe, New Mexico April 13-16, 2015
This and additional presentations available at
http://nativeseed.info