Front Range Seed Analysts
1997 Seed Forum Volume 11 Number 1
TECHNICIAN TIPS
These ideas won't be found in your AOSA Rules for Testing Seeds. They are the everyday things we do in
the lab to make life more pleasant and efficient. We often don't even think of them as innovative or special. Sometimes we assume that "everyone knows about that" when actually others don't. So we've decided to include some of these ideas in this regular feature (starting with this issue). They can't easily be categorized so forgive the disorganization. Write us to add your own.
1. To do a purity on small seeds under the scope and not
miss seeing any contaminants, pour a small
amount of seed into the petri dish. Use your finger to
make a thin spiraling line of seed, with a break
point, around the outside of the dish. Then tap the dish
lightly so the seed settles down into a single layer.
Begin at the break and move around the side looking at
the seed in a continuous line. One can look at a
lot of seed fast and not miss weeds, other crops or inert.
This was taught to me by Arnold Larsen about 10
years ago. Jane Hall, Precision Seed Testing
2. When cutting rock hard seeds for a TZ test use the cardboard band that comes around the razor blade to protect your index finger from all the force needed to cut through the seed. Just tape it right on and cut away! Jane Hall, Precision Seed Testing
3. Or, use a small sized mussel shell (obtained from a rocky beach in RI). Your finger fits right in the smooth pearly part and the outside of the shell has enough roughness to keep the razor from slipping. Annette Miller, NSSL
4. The dip method of blotter moistening: Hold 2 thicknesses of blotter between your thumb and forefinger. Dip into water or KN03 solution while saying (thinking) one-one thousand and remove. Place into germination boxes. Blotters will look too wet at first but after about 30 seconds they will be just right. Annette Miller, NSSL
5. Place small paper labels in purity petri dishes to make sure you don't forget which part of the sample has been inspected as well as weed, crop and inert portions. Cheryl Johnson, NSSL
6. A light spray of static guard keeps static down in petri dishes. Cheryl Johnson, NSSL
7. Use warm water for wetting down towels. Mike Bricker, NSSL
8. A paper ruler with marks for 25 seeds speeds planting and improves spacing for beet seeds planted on long paper towels. Mike Bricker, NSSL
9. Have cards preprinted with method and common comments for high volume testing of a particular crop. Circle and annotate the pertinent comment. Gil Waibel, Colorado Seed Laboratory.
10. Prepare a "cheat sheet" of purity and noxious weights to place near the divider. This reduces "lookup" time for the technician. Gil Waibel, Colorado Seed Laboratory