58 CONTROL SERIES No. 



Type and Variety Studies of Vegetables 



Conducted in Conjunction witti the Department of Vegetable Gardening 

 Professor Grant B. Snyder 



A large majority of home gardeners buy their vegetable seeds from the neigh- 

 borhood store. The commercial grower may also buy from this source if he runs 

 short or has forgotten to order a certain crop from his regular seedsman. These 

 various stores and shops in the neighborhood community are, therefore, important 

 sources of garden seeds. 



It has been found that in a fair percentage of cases, seed purchased from these 

 sources has been variable in germination and in trueness to name. In order to 

 definitely check the performance of packet and bulk seed sold by these merchants, 

 the Department of Vegetable Gardening has cooperated with the Seed Laboratory 

 in making germination tests and in checking the trueness to name of samples 

 purchased on the open market by state inspectors. 



Some 207 lots were included in the field trials, comprising beans, beets, carrots, 

 cucumbers, lettuce, onions, parsnips, radishes, spinach, squash, sweet corn and 

 turnips. 



Field notes on germination indicated fairly good vitality of most lots. The 

 greatest variation was noted in beans and lettuce where a few lots failed to germ- 

 inate and others germinated from 30 to 60 per cent. Spinach failed to germinate 

 because of adverse weather conditions at the time of planting. 



The various lots were surprisingly true to the name printed on the seed packet. 

 There were only a very few cases where off types were noted, and even where 

 observed, the percentage was very small. 



Seeds with most of these stores are a side line. The person selling them has 

 little or no knowledge of what is being sold other than the information printed 

 on the packet and the price. The conditions under which the seed is stored and 

 displayed are too frequently very poor, resulting in poor germination when planted 

 in the garden. Most of the varieties sold are old standard sorts. Newer improved 

 varieties are generally not listed. 



