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.
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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.
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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.
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