CHAPTER XV 



THE SEED IN PLANT PRODUCTION 



NECESSARILY the quality and potential vigor of the seed 

 are most important considerations in crop production. 

 Quality is to a very large extent based upon physiological 

 conditions. It does not seem entirely appropriate to dis- 

 cuss here such matters as " true to type " seed, impurities 

 and adulterants, the contamination of the seed by means 

 of fungous spores present, or of a dormant mycelium within 

 the tissues which may carry disease to the new crop. We 

 are concerned, however, with the adaptability of the strain 

 to the conditions under which it is to be grown, and with 

 the capacity of the seed to produce the most vigorous 

 plants of which the varietj^ is capable. Quality of the 

 seed so far as vigor and adaptability are concerned will be 

 affected by conditions which permit of an arrangement in 

 the following category : - 



By the conditions under which the parent plant has been 

 grown. 



By the conditions under which maturity has been attained. 

 By methods of harvesting and curing. 

 By the period and conditions of storage. 

 By size and weight. 



226. Habitat conditions of the parent plant. - This is 

 properly an hereditary consideration, but it is conven- 



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