A3O-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 29, 1987 By Dr. John E. Baylor Director of Market Development Beachley-Hardy Seed Company Dr. John E. Baylor Director Market Development Beachley-Hardy Seed Company first the Seed Forage specialists agree that a very important cog in your profit able forage program is high quality seed of adapted species, varieties and mixtures. In this month’s col umn I’d like to visit with you about some of those quality forages and also try to help you understand seed better. In later columns we’ll get back to adapted species and mixtures. Quality- What is it? Quality seed is especially important with small-seeded perennial legumes and grasses. Seeds of these species are extreme ly small and contain very little stored food material. Thus, unless you start with good seed and then follow with good seeding prac tices, you can end up with a seed ing failure. Let me assure you at the start that when you buy seed from your reputable dealer, quality is essen tially not a concern. If, on the other hand, you rely on home grown seed you run the risk of planting seed that is inferior in both genetic quality and purity, i.e. freedom from seed seeds or other undesir able materials, as well as low germination. Whal, then, is quality in seeds. It refers to genetic quality, germi nation and purity of a given seed lot or the vitality of the individual seeds. Let’s take a closer look at what these terms mean. Genetic quality refers to the known heredity of the seed you The name agribusiness depends on. Today, livestock and gram haulers need every advantage they can get That's why rgore and them turn to Eby aluminum bodies and trailers They rely on Eby's 40 years of experience to quality, performance-proven product Every Eby aluminum body and trailer Is an investment lasting durability and practical economy For more information write M H Eby, Inc, Box 127 Ball, PA 17506 Or coll 717-354-4971 Aluminum gran bulk feed and livestock bodies, gooseneck trailers, possum belly and straight livestock trailers buy. Historically, seed certifica tion has been the accepted system used to assure genetic identity. The recently passed Plant Variety Protection Act (PVPA) offers further protection for named var ieties of sexually reproduced plants such as alfalfa for which a xrtificate has been dully issued pursuant to the act. The Federal Seed Act makes it unlawful to sell non-certified seeds of a variety certified under the PVPA. Purity refers to mechanical pur ity, i.e. die presence or absence of weed seed, other crop seed or inert matter. These, along with the spe cies and variety name and percent germination are shown on the seed tag. So read the tag! Percent germination refers to the number of seeds per 100 seeds that germinate satisfactorily under standard laboratory conditions. It’s true that field conditions are never as favorable as laboratory conditions. And unfavorable field conditions affect germination and field stands hardest on low-quality seed. But the lab germination is still the accepted standard. A seed with good vitality is one that not only germinates but pro duces a seedling capable of deve loping into an adult plant. Factors which affect vitality include: vigor of parent plants, climatic condi tions during seed maturation, seed maturity, seed storage conditions and age of seed. There’s another term you will sometimes hear seedling aggres siveness. This is a combination of speed of germination and emergence and the ability of the seedling to compete. * mm {'ll '» **«*«* m . „ v w. v gg&g|s£^£&|i For example, of the legumes red clover is generally considered most aggressive followed by sweet clover, alfalfa and alsike clover, ladino clover, birdsfoot trefoil and crownvetch. Perennial ryegrass tops the aggressiveness list of the perennial cool-season grasses and is fol lowed in order by orchardgrass, tall fescue, bromegrass, timothy, .reed canarygrass and kentucky bluegrass. Also, in general for our small seeded, cool-season grasses, the smaller and lighter the seed, the more feeble is the establishment. For example, bluegrass and redtop have an establishment capacity of 20-25%, timothy 40-50%, and rye grass about 60-80%. Thus, for these smaller seeded species such things as rate of seeding, depth of seeding, seedbed preparation and many other factors that you control are all critical. WeTl take a look at other aspects of getting good stands in later columns. Good Idea To License HARRISBURG With the approach of hunting season, the State. Department of Agriculture reminds Pennsylvania sportsmen that it is in their best interest to license hunting dogs. “There is always an increase in lost animals during hunting sea son. A license is an invaluable means by which a dog can be recovered,” noted William Ken nedy, director of the Department’s Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement The owner of a properly tagged dog can be contacted through the county in which the license was issued. ‘The few dollars spent on the cost of a license is a good invest ment on time and money to protect z s r? Hunting Dogs an animal,” Kennedy said. The owner is also protected from a costly fine for failure to license. All dogs six months or older must be licensed under state law, and violations can result in fines of up to $3OO. License fees are $3 for spayed or neutered dogs, $5 for others. For persons 65 and older who present proof of age, the fee is $1.75 for spayed and neutered animals and $2.75 for others. Licenses can be purchased at any county treasur er’s office or through an author ized agent. Kennedy also reminds per own ers that dogs must be vaccinated for rabies. Not only is it law, but it makes good sense for hunting dogs to be vaccinated because they have frequent contact with wild ani mals, he said. He advised sportsmen who come across a stray dog in the field to approach the animal cautiously to determine if it is wearing tags. If it is licensed, the appropriate coun ty treasurer’s office should be noti fied as soon as possible. THE ALL-NEW SCN2OOR ROOFING COIL NAILER. Special Introductory Prices While Supplies Last We’re offering special, too-good-to-miss deals on this all-new, state-of-the-art air-powered roofing coil nailer from Senco®. • Drives 5 full round-head galvanized roofing nails. 50% productivity increase over the hammer. 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