Introduction

Certified seed is the progeny of seed that has been handled to maintain genetic identity and purity and has been approved by a certifying agency. Certified seed should be your first choice for any seeding project. If Certified seed is not available, then try to obtain non-certified seed that may meet certification standards for purity, germination, weed seed, and noxious weed seed. Be extremely careful in choosing a particular seed lot to ensure that it meets quality standards.

Seed lots vary widely in quality. The key to getting the best quality is to look at the information on the seed tag. Law requires that each lot offered for sale must be truthfully labeled. This applies to a single species or a mixture, certified or non-certified.

The Federal Seed Act and State Seed laws dictate the information found on the seed tag (Figure 1). All state certification agencies comply with the minimum requirements and standards of the Association of Official Seed Certification Agencies (AOSCA). Additional information can vary slightly from state to state. If the seed is Certified, it will also have a certification tag (Figure 4) which establishes that the seed meets standards for each class of seed.

Figure 1. Example of a seed tag used at the USDA – Natural Resources Conservation Service, Plant Materials Center, Aberdeen, Idaho.

Information Found on a Seed Tag

1. Variety and kind (Species and Common name)
2. Lot number
3. Origin
4. Net weight
5. Percent pure seed
6. Percent germination (and date of test)
7. Percent inert matter
8. Percent other crop seed
9. Percent weed seeds
10. Name of restricted noxious seed (number per pound of seed)
11. Prohibited noxious seeds are not allowed.
12. Name and address of company responsible for analysis (seller)

Variety and kind (species and common name), lot number, origin, and net weight are all obtained from the grower, seed conditioner (seed cleaner), or seed dealer. The remaining information is obtained from the Seed Analysis Report (Figure 2 and Figure 3), which is completed by an official seed laboratory (government or commercially run) authorized by the state Department of Agriculture.

The seed lab performs a number of tests on a representative sample from each lot submitted by state or certification officials, growers, seed conditioners, or seed dealers. The tests are conducted under controlled conditions based on the "Rules for Testing Seed adopted by the Association of Official Seed Analysts."

It is your right to receive a copy of the Seed Analysis Report, which will list all seeds found in the test sample. With the report in hand, you will be able to make a more informed decision on using a particular seed lot or which lot you want to seed.

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Last Modified: 07/05/2007