SEED INSPECTION 



29 



STUDIES OF FLOWER SEEDS 



Conducted by the Department of Floriculture 

 Clark L. Thayer, Professor 

 Clinton E. Anderson, Student Assistant 



This year marks the thirteenth season that the Department of Floriculture 

 has cooperated with the Seed Laboratory in conducting trials to determine the 

 quality of flower seeds offered for sale in various retail outlets. Seeds of 287 

 lots, representing 64 genera, packeted by 21 wholesalers or distributors were 

 obtained from 49 retail sources by the Seed Inspector. Four retail seed stores 

 were included in this number, the greater number of lots being obtained from 

 chain stores and hardware stores. 



The lots were distributed among the various genera as follows: 



Ageratum 4 



Althea 2 



Alyssum 9 



Amaranthus 1 



Anchusa 2 



Antirrhinum 6 



Aster 1 



Brachycome 2 



Calendula 5 



Calliopsis 2 



Callistephus 12 



Campanula 3 



Celosia 5 



Centaurea 8 



Chrysanthemum 4 



Clarkia 1 



Cleome 4 



Convolvulus 2 



Cosmos 10 



Cynoglossum 2 



Dahlia 4 



Delphinium 9 



Dianthus 7 



Didiscus 1 



Dimorpotheca 2 



Eschscholtzia 4 



Gaillardia 3 



Geum 1 



Godetia 1 



Gomphrena 1 



Gypsophila 2 



Helianthus 1 



Helichrysum 2 



Iberis 7 



Impatiens 3 



Ipomoea 12 



Kochia 2 



Linaria 2 



Lupinus 2 



Malcomia 1 



Mathiola 2 



Mirabilis 2 



Nemesia 1 



Nemophila 1 



Nicotiana 4 



Nigella 1 



Papaver 6 



Petunia 1^ 



Phacelia 1 



Phaseolus 1 



Phlox 9 



Portulaca 11 



Pyrethrum 1 



Reseda 1 



Ricinus 1 



Salvia 3 



Scabiosa 6- 



Statice 2 



Tagetes 20 



Tithonia 1 



Tropaeolum 9 



Verbena 9 



Vinca 2 



Zinnia 22 



TOTAL 287 



Seed sowing was started on June 26 but it was not completed until July 2 

 because of weather conditions. In many cases it was necessary to sow the entire 

 contents of the packet because of the small number of seeds. 



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 approximately 

 two-thirds of the row; "fair" between 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 

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

 form was permissible. 



A larger percentage of the lots than normal gave poor results on germination. 

 This condition was doubtless due in part to two factors, the late date on which 

 the seeds were sown and the small amount of rains during the month of July as 

 shown by the official weather records. 



