SEED INSPECTION 



27 



STUDIES OF FLOWER SEEDS 



Conducted by the Department of Floriculture 



Clark L. Thayer, Professor 



and 



J. Fred Knowles, Jr., Student Assistant 



For the twelfth season the Department of Floriculture has cooperated with 

 the Seed Laboratory in conducting trials to determine the quality of flower 

 seeds offered for sale in retail seed stores, hardware stores, chain stores, schools, 

 and other retail outlets. The seeds, collected by the Seed Inspector, were tested 

 in the field for germination and performance. 



All seeds were sown on June 20. A second sowing was made, if seed was 

 available, for those varieties which did not germinate with the first sowing. 

 The results of the second test are indicated by the letter "D" in the table. 



Seeds of 229 lots, representing 55 genera, packeted by 28 wholesale dealers or 

 distributors and obtained from 56 retail sources, were grouped as follows : 



Acroclinium 1 



Adonis 1 



Ageratum 4 



Alyssum 7 



Anchusa 1 



Antirrhinum 9 



Aster (Machaeranthera) 1 



Brachycome 2 



Calendula 10 



Callistephus — 14 



Celosia 2 



Centaurea 4 



Cheiranthus 1 



Chrysanthumum 4 



Clarkia 3 



Cleome „_ 1 



Cosmos 10 



Dahlia 3 



Delphinium 8 



Dianthus 8 



Dimorphotheca 1 



Eschscholtzia 3 



Godetia 1 



Gomphrena 1 



Gypsophila 2 



Helianthus 1 



Helichrysum 3 



Iberis 7 



Impatiens 2 



Ipomoea 6 



Kpchia 2 



Linaria 1 



1 

 2 

 4 

 1 

 1 



Lupinus 



Mathiola _. 



Mirabilis „ 



Nemesia .. 



Nemophila 



Nicotiana 3 



Papaver 

 Petunia 



Phacelia 1 



Phlox 6 



Portulaca 5 



Reseda -— 3 



Salpiglossis 2 



Salvia - 3 



Sanvitalia 2 



Scabiosa 7 



Schizanthus 



Tagetes 



Tithonia 



Tropaeolum ._ 



Verbena 



Vinca 



Zinnia — 



Total. 



1 



19 

 2 

 2 

 4 

 2 



21 



229 



Germination tests were not made in the laboratory on any of the lots of seed. 

 Results of germination were rated as "good" if seeds germinated in approxi- 

 mately two-thirds of the row ; "fair" betv>^een one-third and two-thirds ; "poor" 

 for less than one-third. Performance was designated as "satisfactory" if the 

 varieties were true to name, with only one-third or less of the plants not true 

 to form or color ; "fair" between one-third and two-thirds not true ; and "not 

 satisfactory" if less than one-third was true to name or if the lot did not produce 

 sufficient plants for providing satisfactory data. 



As far as possible trueness to type was determined. Since many lots were de- 

 scribed as mixtures or did not carry varietal names, a wide range in color and 

 form was permissible. 



A comparison of results of germination in 1946 and 1947 would seem to indi- 

 cate that a lower quality of seed was offered this year. 



1946 



1947 



226 



100.00 



229 



100.00 



