In order to get a good crop of grain and vegetable crops, for sowing, of course, only planting material that meets the requirements of GOST should be used. The sowing qualities of seeds primarily determine how quickly and correctly various kinds of agricultural plants develop in the future.
Varietal quality of seeds
It is this sign that agronomists pay attention before planting any agricultural crops in the first place. Varietal qualities of seeds are determined:
In this case, field testing implies, first of all, examination of crops for compliance with the rules of seed production and crop yields. According to varietal suitability, planting material of agricultural crops is classified into several groups (OS, RS, RST, ES), each of which has its own GOST requirements.
What are sowing qualities
The use of seeds that meet the standard in terms of varietal traits allows you to get the highest possible yields. However, before sowing, planting material, of course, must be checked for sowing qualities. In this regard, the seeds must also meet the requirements of GOST.
They call sowing qualities a combination of properties and characteristics that determine the suitability of planting material for sowing. Check the seeds in this case for several indicators at once.
How are determined
Varietal planting material in any case should be germinating, not infected with insect larvae, fungi, etc. The sowing qualities of seeds of various kinds of agricultural crops are determined by:
germination;
cleanliness;
- growth energy;
humidity;
mass.
In some cases, the viability of planting material may also be determined.
Seed purity
When storing or transporting planting material of different crops, unfortunately, can partially be mixed. Norms allow this, but within certain limits. First of all, when determining the sowing qualities of seeds, they find out how much is contained in the control norm of impurities of planting material of other crops. In addition, they check for the presence of weed seeds.
In this case, they are guided in determining the sowing qualities of GOST seeds, providing for the maximum permissible amount of impurities for each varietal group.
Germination
To determine this parameter, take a certain amount of seeds and germinate them. In this way, laboratory germination is recognized. Its degree is determined in accordance with the ratio of normally germinated seeds to their total number in the sample. At the same time, such planting material is considered to be germinated, in which:
Seeds are germinated when determining laboratory germination in a thermostat at a temperature of 20-22 ° C. This procedure usually lasts 7-8 days.
There is also such a thing as field germination. It is determined by the number of sprouts that appear to the number of seeds sown. Usually field germination is 5-20% less than laboratory.
What is vitality
This indicator is determined by staining the seeds in the seeds during maturation. Thus, forest planting material is often checked. For staining seeds using potassium iodide, tetrazole and indigo carmine. The first two drugs are able to penetrate only into living seed cells, and the last only into dead cells.
When determining viability, the planting material under investigation is first soaked until swelling. Then the embryos are extracted from the seeds and stained. Checking the ratio of living and dead cells in this case is carried out by the luminescent method.
Growth energy
Of course, planting material must first of all comply with GOST. On the varietal and sowing qualities of seeds, among other things, such a factor as the uniform appearance of seedlings depends. Growth energy is defined as the percentage of roots and sprouts giving seeds for a specific period. Thus, planting material is usually checked for 3-4 days.
Of course, for planting in the fields it is supposed to use seeds with high energy of growth. If this indicator is low, seedlings will subsequently appear slowly. Among other things, in the fields, the temperature and humidity conditions can change over time. For example, due to drought, many seeds may never germinate at all.
Sowing qualities of seeds of grain crops: humidity
This indicator for quality seeds is usually not too high. Dry planting material is better stored, not damaged by insects and fungi. According to GOST standards, seed moisture for each crop should not be higher than certain indicators:
for legumes and grains - 15.5%;
for flax and rapeseed - 12%;
for winter crops - 12-15%, etc.
Weight
In determining the sowing qualities of seeds, among other things, pay attention to their size. Before sowing, planting material, among other things, is also weighed. A mass of 1000 seeds is then used to calculate the weight rate of planting.
How to increase sowing qualities: growing and harvesting technologies
To obtain good planting material, farms can carry out a variety of activities. Seeds are taken from plants grown usually in separate areas. At the same time, care for such landings is carried out with the highest quality. In such areas, they make sure that the plants are well lit, watered and fertilized on time.
Sometimes seeds are also collected from ordinary fields not designated for growing them. In this case, planting material is supposed to be taken only where the plants developed in the most favorable conditions. Landing material is not allowed to take from lodged crops.
Warehousing
The sowing quality of seeds depends, among other things, on the conditions of their storage. Planting material collected in the fields should first be cleaned first:
from litter;
broken grain;
weed seeds.
Also, the seeds should be well dried and sorted. The planting material that has undergone such processing subsequently better preserves the yield properties.
Pickling
Unfortunately, planting material of various kinds of crops is infected with all kinds of fungi and insects. Therefore, seeds are usually pickled before planting. This procedure is most often performed by the dry method with moisturizing no more than 10 liters of water 1 ton of planting material.
Against the dusty head of cereals, among other things, in preparation for sowing, heat treatment of seeds can also be carried out. Planting material in this case is first heated in water at a temperature of 28-32 ° C for 4 hours. Next, the seeds are placed in water at a temperature of 50-53 ° C for 7-10 minutes.
Seed hardening
Sowing indicators of seed quality can be improved including using this procedure. Hardening not only makes the seedlings more resistant to cold weather, but also allows you to increase productivity. Such seed treatment can be carried out using different technologies. The simplest method is keeping the swollen planting material at a temperature of 0-1 ° C during the day. Also, sometimes planting material is alternately placed in the sun during the day for 6 hours and at night in a cold place for 18 hours. Each such cycle is repeated 3-4 times.
Panning
Seeds of beets, vegetables, legumes before planting can be subjected to such a procedure. It consists in enveloping a protective nutritional shell in a special apparatus. For pelleting, seeds of the same size are selected.
The use of stimulants
Such substances are used to increase seed energy. For example, sodium humate, Pennant, etc. can be used for this purpose. Processing planting material in this way can increase germination by about 15%. In addition, a powerful root system develops in plants. Also, the plant has a 50% increase in the number of productive stems.
Instead of a conclusion
Sowing and varietal quality of seeds before planting crops should be checked without fail. Otherwise, it will not be possible to get a good harvest on the farm. Only seeds must be used for planting, exactly meeting the requirements of GOST.
And, of course, in order to get a good harvest, before sowing, it is necessary to improve the quality of planting material by dressing, hardening, drazhirovany, etc.