Assessment of Seed Quality1

Abstract

The assessment of seed quality continues to attract increasing attention from the seed industry. Farmers believe that seed quality information will enable them to make economic decisions regarding the cost of seeds, earliness of planting, quantity of seeds to plant, and the anticipated uniformity of stand. Seedsmen believe that seed quality information will aid them in monitoring seed quality during the various processing phases of seed production. Seed quality tests might reveal where loss in seed viability occurs during combining, cleaning, drying, storing, bagging, etc. and may pinpoint adverse practices which could subsequently be improved. The accurate assessment of seed quality could have a significant impact on improving seed performance, which would culminate in important economic considerations for the farmer and seedsman alike. This report will attempt to clarify what seed quality is, what constraints are imposed on seed quality testing, how seed quality tests are assessed, how seed quality tests can be standardized, and what the future of seed quality testing may be.