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Seed testing key to improving crop quality

 
Farmers will want to start thinking about lining up seed tests for Spring seeding next year.
 
Allie Noble is a Crops Intern with Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Agriculture.
 
She says it’s important to know what you’re putting in the ground noting producers should be testing for seed-borne diseases.
 
"By doing seed-borne disease tests you're able to check for different types of diseases with crops," Noble said. "For oilseeds, you can check for blackleg, with pulses you can find out if there is any ascochyta, anthracnose, patritius or square artinya and then with cereals, you can check for feverion."  
 
Farmers may also want to start looking at getting a seed test done prior to Spring seeding.
 
"Producers can do a seed testing right now," she said. "That will give you a good idea and better prepared for the spring, but also if there are any questions about quality or if it was a rough winter, it's always good to have that seed germination test and have seed testing done in the spring too, just to make sure the germination levels have changed at all during the winter."      
 
Source : Discoverestevan

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