Crop Science 12

Laboratory Exercise 5

Seed Purity and Viability Testing

A. Purity test

Seed is the vital and basic input of agricultural production on which the performance and
efficacy of other inputs depend. A good quality rice seed should be pure, full and uniform in size, free
from weeds, insect, disease and other inert matters and more over it should be viable (>80 %
germination).

A purity exam determines the percentage (by weight) of pure seed, other crop, weed, and inert
material in a seed lot. The pure seed component is the desired species in the seed lot, and the other
three components are essentially unwanted material. Weeds and other crop may appear in a sample if
the field was contaminated, or if the harvesting equipment was not properly cleaned before use. Inert
material usually consists of dust, stones, plant parts, and the like.

Objective of The Physical Purity Test

Definitions of the Four Components

Pure seed
 The pure seed shall refer to the species stated by the sender or found to predominate in the test
and shall include all botanical varieties and cultivars of that species. Here it is Oryza sativa L.
 Spikelet with glumes, lemma and palea enclosing a caryopsis excluding the awn when length of
awn is longer than the length of the floret.
 Floret, with or without lemma, with lemma and palea enclosing a caryopsis excluding the awn
when length of awn is longer than the length of the floret.
 Caryopsis.
 Piece of caryopsis larger than one-half the original size.
The above structures (even if immature, undersized, shrivelled, diseased or germinated, provided they
can be identified as of that species) shall be regarded as pure seed in case of paddy.

Other crop Seed: Other seeds shall include seeds and seed-like structures of any plant species other
than that of pure seed.

Weed seed: It includes seeds of those species normally recognized as weeds.

Inert Matter: Inert matter shall include seeds, seed-like structures and other matter as follows:
 Pieces of broken or damaged caryopsis, one half the original size or less.
 Paddy seeds with awns longer than length of floret.
 Soil, sand, stones, stems, leaves, pieces of bark, flower, nematode galls fungus bodies (such us
bunt or smut balls) and all other matter that are not seeds.
Sample Size

The sample sent to the seed testing station either by a company, private person, or sampling
agency, is called submitted sample. The minimum size of the submitted sample for paddy seed is 400 g.
The minimum size of the working sample (drawn from submitted sample) for paddy seed is 40 g.

Calculation and Expression of Results

 Add together the weights of all the component fractions from the working sample. This sum
must be compared with the original weight as check against gain or loss. If there is a discrepancy
of more than 5% of the initial weight, a retest must be made. The result of the retest is then
reported.
 The percentage by weight of each of the component parts shall be reported to two decimal
places. Percentages must be based on the sum of the weights of the components, not on the
original weight of the working sample.
 Parameters Samples

1 2 3

Weight of Pure Seed

Weight of Other Seed

Weight of Inert material

Weight of Weed Seed

Total Weight of the Samples

% Pure Seed

% Other Seed

% Inert Material

% Weed Seed

Remarks

B. Viability Testing

There are two common types of viability testing: germination and tetrazolium (TZ). Only a handful of
institutions allow TZ test results to be used for labeling, so the industry relies heavily on the germination
test as the benchmark for viability.

Germination Test

In laboratory, seed germination is defined as “the emergence from the seed embryo of those
essential structures which, for the kind in question, are indicative of the ability to produce a normal
plant under favorable conditions.” It is important to note that a germination test is not designed to
predict how seed will perform in the field. Favorable conditions are used so the test can be easily
reproduced between labs. Vigor testing (tests that subject the seed to types of stress) are designed to
mimic field conditions and are a better indicator of field
performance.

One hundred (100) seeds are always planted in a standard germination test. The seed is taken
from the pure seed component of the purity test. Depending on seed size, three to sixteen replicates
may be used.
Percent germination. Percent germination is determined using a simple ratio:

(Number of Normal Healthy Seedlings/Total number of seeds tested)*100

Percent pure live seed. From the preceding information, one can calculate percent pure live seed (the
percentage of desired cultivar seed that will germinate) by the formula

percent live seed (PLS) = (% germination * % purity)/100

Replicates Germination Rate

Petri Dish 1

Petri Dish 2

Petri Dish 3

Average

Percent Live Seed: __________________________

2. Describe the tetrazolium (TZ) test and its role in determining seed viability.
How does the staining pattern indicate seed viability?
3. What are the advantages and limitations of the germination test compared
to the tetrazolium test in assessing seed viability?

4. Why is it important to maintain specific environmental conditions (such as

5. Explain how seed dormancy can influence the results of viability tests, and
what methods can be used to overcome dormancy before testing.