SEED INSPECTION 25 



TYPE AND VARIETY STUDIES OF VEGETABLES 

 Conducted by the Department of Olericulture 

 W. H. Lachman, Assistant Research Professor 



Clinton E. Anderson, Student Assistant 



Tests have been conducted by the Experiment Station for the past thirteen 

 years to determine the trueness to type of various kinds of vegetable seeds which 

 are offered for sale in this State. The purpose of this work has been to discourage 

 the distribution of unfit or worthless seed. Seed samples of rutabagas, turnips, 

 carrots, radishes, beets, spinach, beans, and sweet corn were purchased by the 

 State Inspector and sent here where they were planted in field test plots in order 

 to compare plant characteristics with the labeled variety name. Growing con- 

 ditions were quite satisfactory, except for spinach, for which temperatures were 

 too high; and as a consequence results are not recorded in this report. 



Yield records were not taken because of the necessity of using small plots; and 

 replication of the plantings was not feasible on account of the large number of 

 strains and varieties in the test. Conformity to type has been the measure of 

 comparison in these tests, and individual plants have been called off-type when 

 they could not be classified in a group of plants ranging fairly close to the type 

 generally accepted a typical for the particular variety under consideration. 



In studying the performance records and comparing them with the results of 

 previous years it is evident that there has been a significant improvement in the 

 care exercised by seedsmen in producing and selling vegetable seed. In a few 

 instances it appeared that the variety had been misnamed or misrepresented, 

 but these have usually been reasonably good substitutions. 



As in previous years, it was noted that some producers of hybrid sweet corn 

 seed should take increasing care in detasseling their fields. Probably most 

 other suggestions for maintaining good seed stocks should be directed to the 

 retailers. It is well known that turnip seed do not retain their vitality over any 

 considerable length of time, and therefore hold-over seed should be given a 

 germination test before it is distributed to the public. A few retailers are prone 

 to combine small lots of seed of several varieties of one kind of vegetable at the 

 end of the growing season and "get rid" of it to the public the next year. This 

 practice certainly should be discouraged. 



The source of the seed is given together with remarks on conformity to type, 

 except that those lots of seed which were tested in the field and found 100 percent 

 true-to-type are not included in this table. 



