KANDODO ISAAC MAGANGA

LECTURER IN AGRONOMY
CROP AND SOIL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT
[email protected]
 SEED TESTING
• Analysis of a small, representative sample of a seed lot to
determine its physical and physiological quality, which
directly relates to the potential planting value
• Tests must be standardized and replicable for the data of
different seedlots to be comparable
• ISTA methods widely adopted
• First formulated in 1931

• Includes sampling procedure

• Allows all capable labs to carry out reliable tests
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Friday, 09 May
2025
 SEED TESTS AND TIMING
At Harvest During Before Storage During Storage
Processing
Simple -Maturity -Seed health
tests -Seed health (Cutting)
(Cutting) -Moisture
-Moisture content content
(Moisture meter) (Moisture
meter)
-Purity
(screening)
Standard -Seed weight Viability/germination
tests -Purity Moisture content
-Moisture content
(Oven method
-Viability/germination
(TTZ, X-ray,
germination)
Special -Seed Health (Vigour -Seed Health (Vigour
tests test) test)
 SEED PURITY TEST
WHY PURITY TEST

• To determine the % composition by weight of the sample

being tested and by inference the composition of the seed
lot

• To determine the identity of the various species of seeds

and inert particles constituting the sample

Friday, 09 May
2025
 SEED PURITY TEST
DEFINITIONS
• PURE SEED: The species stated by the applicant, or found to
predominate in the test, and must include all botanical
varieties and cultivars of that species
• Includes pieces of seed units larger than one-half their
original size
• OTHER SEEDS: Seed units of any plant species other than
that of pure seed
• INERT MATTER: All other matter and structures not defined
as pure seed or other seed 5

• Includes broken seeds less than half the original size

Friday, 09 May
2025
 SEED PURITY TEST
APPARATUS
• Seed dividers

• Magnifiers

• Reflected Light

• Sieves

• Blowers
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• Analytical balances Friday, 09 May

2025
 SEED PURITY TEST
WORKING PROCEDURE
• Obtain a working sample from the submitted sample as
indicated by ISTA (Table 1) (2500 seed units)
• Conical divider
• Centrifugal divider
• Quartering method

• Weigh the working sample to a minimum number of

decimal places (4 digit rule)
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Friday, 09 May
2025
CENTRIFUGAL SEED DIVIDER CONICAL SEED DIVIDER
TABLE 1. LOT SIZES AND SAMPLE SIZES: AGRICULTURAL
AND VEGETABLE SEEDS (EXTRACTED FROM ISTA, 2025)
 SEED PURITY TEST
WORKING PROCEDURE: The Four Digit Rule

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Friday, 09 May
2025
 SEED PURITY TEST
SEPARATION OF COMPONENTS
• Separate the working sample into the component parts
based on an examination of each particle.
• Weigh each component part to minimum number of decimal
places

• Apply 4 digit rule to the pure seed component

• The rest should take no of decimal places as in the pure
seed
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Friday, 09 May
2025
 SEED PURITY TEST
CALCULATION AND EXPRESSION OF RESULTS

• Add the weights of all the component fractions

• The sum must not be more than 5 % higher or lower than

the original working sample

• % of each component is calculated based on the total

weight not original working sample
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• The % should be reported to 1 dp Friday, 09 May

2025
 GERMINATION TEST
• Germination of a seed in an ISTA test is the emergence
and development of the seedling to a stage where
essential structures indicates whether or not it is able to
develop further into a satisfactory plant under favourable
conditions in the field.

WHY GERMINATION TEST

• To determine the germination potential of a seed lot, which

can then in turn be used to compare the quality of different
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lots and estimate the field planting value. Friday, 09 May

2025
 GERMINATION TEST
GROWING MEDIA
• Composition: paper (news print, filter paper), pure sand
• Water retention characteristics: capacity to hold sufficient
water and provide continuous movement of water to the
seeds and seedlings
• pH: 6.0–7.5
• Conductivity: the salinity no more than 40 millisiemens per
meter
• Cleanness and freedom from toxicity: free from seeds,
fungi, bacteria or toxic substances
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• Re-use of substrates: it is strongly to only use once.

Friday, 09 May
2025
 GERMINATION TEST
PROCEDURE

• Four hundred seeds are taken at random from the well-

mixed pure seed

• Plant them uniformly spaced on a moist media in replicates

of 100 seeds

• If the containers are small, use 8 replicates of 50 seeds

• Place in a germination chamber for specified no of days

• Set to a right method (Temperature and RH) 16

Friday, 09 May
2025
 GERMINATION TEST
GERMINATION PERCENTAGE
• The proportion by number of seeds which have produced
seedlings classified as normal seedlings.
NORMAL SEEDLINGS
• Intact seedlings: seedlings with all their essential
structures well developed, complete and healthy
• Seedlings with slight defects: slight defects of their
essential structures, but with a satisfactory and
balanced development comparable to that of intact
seedlings of the same test;
• Seedlings with secondary infection: seedlings which
have been affected by fungi or bacteria from sources 18

other than the parent seed. Friday, 09 May

2025
 GERMINATION TEST
GERMINATION PERCENTAGE
• The proportion by number of seeds which have produced
seedlings classified as normal seedlings.
NORMAL SEEDLINGS
• Intact seedlings: seedlings with all their essential
structures well developed, complete and healthy
• Seedlings with slight defects: slight defects of their
essential structures, but with a satisfactory and
balanced development comparable to that of intact
seedlings of the same test;
• Seedlings with secondary infection: seedlings which
have been affected by fungi or bacteria from sources 19

other than the parent seed. Friday, 09 May

2025
 GERMINATION TEST
ABNORMAL SEEDLINGS
• Do not show potential to develop into a normal plant when
grown in good soil, moisture, temperature and light.
• Damaged: seedlings with any of the essential structures
missing or so badly and irreparably damaged
• Deformed or unbalanced: seedlings with weak
development or physiological disturbances or in which
essential structures are deformed or out of proportion;
• Decayed: seedlings with any of their essential structures
so diseased or decayed as a result of primary infection
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Friday, 09 May
2025
ABNORMAL MAIZE SEEDLINGS
 GERMINATION TEST
• Hard seeds: seeds which remain hard at the end of the test
period, because they have not absorbed water

• Fresh seeds: seeds, which because of dormancy, fail to

germinate under the conditions of the germination test, but
remain clean and firm

• Dead seeds: seeds which at the end of the test period are
neither hard nor fresh nor have produced any part of a
seedling; 22

Friday, 09 May
2025
 GERMINATION TEST
• CALCULATION AND EXPRESSION OF RESULTS
• Expressed as percentages by number of normal and
abnormal seedlings and hard, fresh and dead seeds.

• The percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number.

• The sum of the percentages must be 100

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Friday, 09 May
2025