SEED INSPECTION 



3^ 



STUDIES OF FLOWER SEEDS 



Conducted by the Seed Laboratory 

 Waldo C. Lincoln, Jr., (Res.) Instructor 

 Paul Korpita, Laboratory Assistant 



This is the nineteenth year in which flower seed studies have been con- 

 ducted by the Seed Laboratory to determine the quaHty of flower seed offered 

 for sale in various retail outlets. Seed of 422 lots, representing 57 genera 

 packeted by 24 wholesalers or distributors, were obtained from 143 retail 

 sources by the Seed Inspector. All samples but one, an annual flower garden 

 mixture, were given germination tests in the laboratory, but 25 were not tested 

 in the field. Of those not tested in the field, eight were perennials, three bien- 

 nials, one Kudza Vine, seven Ipomeas, and six Lathyrus. 



The lots field-tested were distributed amon" the various genera as follows: 



Ageratum 5 



Althea 1 



Alyssum 12 



Anchusa 3 



Antirrhinum 5 



Arctotis 1 



Brachycome 1 



Cacalia 1 



Calendula 16 



Calliopsis 1 



Callistephus 32 



Celosia 2 



Centaurea Cyanus.. . .21 

 Centaurea gymnocarpa 1 

 Centaurea moschata. . .1 



Chrysanthemum 2 



Clarkia 1 



Cleome 1 



Cosmos 7 



Cynoglossum 2 



Dahha 2 



Delphinium 10 



Dianthus 1 



Didiscus 1 



Dimorphotheca 1 



Eschscholtzia 8 



Euphorbia marginata. . 2 



Gaillardia 7 



Gilia.. 1 



Godetia 3 



Gypsophila 3 



Helianthus 7 



Helichrysum 3 



Hunnemannia 2 



Iberis 5 



Impatiens 3 



Kochia 2 



Linaria 1 



Lupinus 1 



Martynia 1 



Mathiola 1 



Mirabilis 2 



Nemophila 1 



Nicotiana 3 



Nigella 1 



Papaver 9 



Petunia 14 



Phlox 3 



Portulaca 10 



Reseda 4 



Salpiglossis 2 



Salvia 2 



Schizanthus 1 



Scabiosa 8 



Tagetes 48 



Tithonia 3 



Tropaeolum 32 



Verbena 4 



Zinnia 67 



Dates of sowing were June 2 and 3. Seeds were sown in 15-foot sections 

 in the row with the exception of Alyssum, Iberis, Portulaca, Phlox, Petunia, 

 Reseda, and Scabiosa, which were sown in 10-foot sections. In most cases, the 

 quantity of seed was sufficient to plant the desired section. The Zinnias were 

 planted on July 1 in 20-foot sections following the testing of the radishes in the 

 vegetable field trials. 



Germination tests were made in the laboratory for all samples of seed 

 except for one flower seed mixture. The results of the laboratory germination 

 are listed in Table 5 for samples that are considered worthless for sale or for 

 samples with a good germination test but found otherwise unsatisfactory in 

 the field. A sample was considered worthless for sale if it germinated 50 per- 

 cent or less of the tentative "standards" of flower seed. Laboratory tests found 

 3.8 percent of the total 422 lots tested as worthless and 22.6 percent as below 

 the tentative "standards." 



The weather during the critical germination period was fair to good, and 

 growing conditions were good throughout the first three-quarters of the sea- 

 son. The last of the summer was unduly wet and cloudy, followed by high 

 winds early in September, but we were able to obtain all necessary records. 

 The following table lists only those samples that were found in the field test 

 that difi^ered in performance from that stated on the seed packet. 



