How to choose a qualitative seed grain

A number of difficulties can accompany the process of buying seeds. The lack of the necessary hybrid, late delivery, seed falsification, poor quality of seeds affect on the result of the sowing campaign and yield. You need to be well informed to protect yourself from buying fake or substandard seed material.

Be careful: falsification!

According to the information from analytical agencies, 25-30% of seeds in Ukraine are in illegal circulation.

“Some companies falsify the seeds, which prevail in the structure of crops – sunflowers, corn, soybeans. The implementation of genetically modified soybeans is also illegal. The seed material of foreign breeding is mainly falsified. Each company has seeds that are a brand business card and are sold in large quantities. Most often, it is the top positions that are in favor among farmers”, said executive director of the Seed Association of Ukraine, Siuzanna Hryhorenko.

The safest way to purchase original seeds is to contact the official suppliers. Lists of distributors are available on the websites of manufacturing companies. This information can also be obtained from regional representatives of the seed company.

The supplier should submit documents by the purchasing, which confirm the originality and quality of the seeds. A certificate that confirms the sort and sowing qualities accompanies each seed lot.

The mass of thousands of seeds, purity, energy, germination ability, as well as the lot number, year of harvest and country of origin should be indicated in the documents. The information, which is specified in the certificate, should match with the label on the sack.

The seed companies use different methods of protection to secure customers from falsification. QR codes, holograms, individual numbers are indicated on the sacks. Therefore, before purchasing it is important to find out, how the original seed sack of a particular manufacturer looks like and what protection is provided.

Determination of seed quality

It is better to purchase seeds before the start of the sowing campaign. The float time will make it possible to assure of the seed quality and to calculate the seeding rate depending on the indicators. It is necessary to pay attention to the fact, for which year the crop is prepared for planting. By the reason of long-term storage, the germinating ability and energy of the seeds are reduced. Some companies prefer to take the seed material from the warehouse of the seller immediately before sowing. In this case, it is necessary to agree with the supplier and take samples of seeds beforehand for analysis. The quality of the seed material is checked in specialized laboratories or individually. 

The main indicators, which determine the suitability of seeds for sowing, are:

Germination energy characterizes the ability of seeds to produce fast and good sprouts.

Germination – the percentage of sprouted seeds to the total number of sown seeds.

The higher the germination rate and energy are, the more proportional the sprouts will be obtained.

The analysis is carried out in laboratories, taking from the pattern four samples in 100 seeds. Then the grains are planted in the substrate and placed in a thermostat for germination. After receiving, the sproutings are counted. Based on the obtained results, the average value is counted in percents.

Germination and energy of seeds are checked by a simplified method in home conditions. For analysis, 4 samples of 10 seeds are taken, which are placed in a container between the layers of filter paper that is wet with water. Then this container is tightly covered with a film and left in a dark place at room temperature. During the analysis, it is important to control the moisture content of the paper and to prevent it from drying out. Energy and germination level counting is carried out in 4-10 days depending on the culture. Home-based results are less accurate than laboratory results.

Summarizing, we list three main recommendations:

- buy seed grain by approved distributors

- require certificates for seeds

- check the quality of the seeds.