Seed Procurement,

Seed Labeling,
& Seed Procurement
Seed Certification

Sources of Seed Seed orchards

 Seed Orchards
 Set up with the sole purpose of
 Seed Collection Areas producing high volumes of high quality
 Seed Production Areas seed
 Seed Purchase (dealers)  Established with genetically superior
trees
 Seed or cone purchase
(open market)  Very high-intensity management
(fertilized, mowed, sprayed . . . .)
 Contract collecting

Seed collection areas Seed production areas

 Stands identified as good places to pick
 Stands not originally intended for seed production, but
cones (‘open’ stands such as picnic areas
converted to that use.
and campgrounds)
 Rogued of inferior phenotypes (therefore there is a
 Seed production is usually an possibility of slight genetic gain)
‘afterthought’ and may always be a
secondary use  Thinned heavily (preferably before crown closure)

 No implication of genetic improvement  May be topped or pruned up from the base for ease of
access
because trees were not selected, they
were just ‘handy’

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 Seed production areas
Seed or cone purchase
(continued)

 Often fertilized, mowed, and sprayed  Seed dealers (simple, inexpensive, but
for cone and seed insects may not have the source you want)
(management intensity approaches  Newspaper ads/radio announcements
that of a seed orchard)
 Employees (but be terribly careful
 Often used as a stop-gap until seed
orchards flower about liability)
 Often used for exotic species when
there is no other good source of seed

Contract collecting
Contract collecting (continued)
 Has tremendous advantages:
 You get to pick the stands  Scout troops, 4H clubs, and other
 Can check in advance for cone ripeness ‘kid organizations’ (Be very careful,
 Has tremendous disadvantage: should probably be limited to
Liability ‘ground collection’)
 Can collect from recently logged areas  Logging crews
(be careful about cone ripeness)  Tree removal companies

Seed Labeling
 Most states require labeling of agricultural
seed
Seed Labeling  In big agricultural states this is taken very
seriously
 Tree seed labeling is relatively recent and
usually a subset of agricultural seed
labeling laws

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 New York State
In N.Y. the label includes:
 Dr. Gene Farnsworth was the prime 1. Name and address of collector or vendor
mover for NY State 2. Name and purpose of any seed
 NY was one of first states to require treatments
labeling for tree seed
3. Any coatings on seed that may be toxic
 The regulations were adopted in 1956:
Chapter 631, Article 9 4. “Kind and variety” (Roughly: species &
 Similar statutes have now been adopted sub-species or strain)
by many other states

In New York the label must

include (continued):
5. Percent by weight of pure seed (note:
this is by weight, not number of seeds)
6. Percent germination (Must be re-tested
annually- probably an unnecessary requirement
Seed Certification:
for most tree seeds.)
7. Year of collection
8. State and county of collection (or
similar designation if foreign equivalent)

Seed Certification
Seed Certification: (Continued):
 For international sales into or among
 In the United States, tree seed certification
OECD countries, certification is
is voluntary
mandatory.
 In NY, conducted by the New York Seed
 For seed certification under the OECD
Improvement Cooperative, located at
scheme, there are four categories:
Cornell University
 For tree seed, the Cooperative relies upon
ESF to supply expertise •Source ID
•Selected
•Seed Orchard
•Tested

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 Categories of Certified Seed
Categories of Certified Seed
OECD Category Tag color Criterion
Source identified
(NY equivalent)
Source identified
(Source)
yellow Known collection point and known origin.
 Yellow Tag
Selected green Known collection point, known origin, and:
(Standard) • collected under supervision of certification agent,
• isolated from off-types,
• parent stand of better quality than average,
• large enough population to prevent inbreeding.
•Known collection point and
Seed Orchard pink Same criterion as above. In addition:
(Selected)
• orchard design & objectives •known origin.
• isolation from contaminant pollen,

• and location must be approved and registered in

advance

Tested blue Same criterion as above. In addition, progeny tests

(Superior) must have been completed and material proven superior
to the best commonly available source of seed for that
species and use ("standard"). It must exceed the mean
for the standards in at least one important trait and
match the mean in at least two others. If it falls below
the standard in any trait this must also be stated.

Categories of Certified Seed Categories of Certified Seed

Selected Seed Orchard
 Green Tag  Pink Tag
Same as above. In addition:
•Collected under supervision of certification agent, Same criterion as above. In addition,
•Isolated from off-types, •orchard design & objectives,
•Parent stand of better quality than average,and •isolation from contaminant pollen,
•Large enough population to prevent inbreeding. •and location must all be approved and
registered in advance of cone collection

Categories of Certified Seed

Tested Unit of Certification may be:
 Blue Tag
 Stand,
Same criterion as above. In addition,  Orchard,
• Progeny tests must have been completed and  Clone, or
material proven superior to the best commonly
available source of seed ("standard") for that  Individual tree
species and use
• It must exceed the mean for the standards in at
least one important trait and
• Match the mean in at least two others.
• If it falls below the standard in any trait this must
also be stated.

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 Nursery management of May influence:
improved seed  Containerization
 Fall sowing v.s. stratification and spring
 Much more valuable than normal seed- sowing
 Nursery objective should be maximizing  Density of sowing per ft2 of bed or per
the yield of plantable seedlings per pound container.
of seed rather than per ft2 of nursery bed.  Time to grow the seedlings 3-0 v.s 2-0
 Fertilization rates
 Fungicide treatment
 pelletizing the seed

Possible Plantation
Management Changes
 Should be planted at widest recommended
spacing to maximize the number of acres
covered
 Should be deployed to best sites (Or worst sites
if specially selected)
 May be able to shorten the rotation
 Should generally practice most intensive
management commonly used for the species
and silvicultural system