Granite Seed Company’s quality control program ensures that all seed sold is accurately labeled. All of our seed is tested for purity and germination, using the procedures sanctioned by the Association of Official Seed Analysts.
These results and the date of the test are reported on your seed tag. Your seed tag will show the purity (percentage of the labeled species by weight), the percentages of other crops, weed, inert material, dormant or hard seed, and will also show the percentage of seed that will germinate.
Buyers are cautioned to never purchase seed that has not been tested for purity, weed and crop content, and germination percentage.
A seed tag is a legal document describing the contents of the seed you are purchasing. Besides being very useful information to the consumer, State and Federal laws require seed companies to provide a description of the seed being sold. The information on the tag comes from tests that have been performed on the seed by a seed testing laboratory. To ensure that our customers are getting the most accurate and independent results possible, Granite Seed Company uses only labs that are members of the Association of Official Seed Analysts or the Society of Commercial Seed Technologists
The information that you will find on all Granite Seed Company tags is as follows:
- Granite Seed’s address
- Name of the species of seed or seeds being sold.
- Variety of seed or seeds being sold.
- % Purity of the seed.
- Purity is defined as the percent weight of the entire sample of each seed species or variety that is present in excess of 5% of the total.
- % Other crop seed.
- Other crop seed is defined as the percent weight of the entire sample of seed found in the sample that is less than 5% of the total seed weight and is generally recognized by the Association of Official Seed Analysts as seeds or plants grown as crops. If more than one crop species or cultivar is found in the sample, their weights are combined and reported.
- % Weed seed.
- Weed seeds are all other seed species that the Association of Official Seed Analysts does not classify as crop seeds.
- % Inert matter.
- Inert matter is defined as the percent weight of the sample that is not viable seed. It can include plant parts, broken seeds or other materials that are not viable seeds.
- % Germination.
- Germination is the percent of the number of seeds that, when tested, will develop from the seed embryo the essential structures necessary to produce a normal plant under favorable conditions.
- % Hard and/or Dormant Seed.
- Hard seed is the percent of the number of seeds that remain hard at the end of the testing period because they have not absorbed water because of an impermeable seed coat. Hard seed is generally considered to be seed that will germinate at a later date than seed reported in the % germination calculation.
- Dormant seed is defined as the percent of the number of seeds, other than hard seed, that fail to germinate but is determined to be viable by subjecting them to other seed testing techniques. Dormant seed is generally considered to be seed that will germinate at a later date than seed reported in the % germination calculation.
- % Total Viability
- The percent total viability is the sum of the germination, hard and dormant seed.
- Noxious Weed Seeds of the continental USA.
- Restricted weed seeds are reported on the seed tag by their name and number per pound. They are defined as seeds of any plants that may adversely affect agriculture. State laws restrict the number of Restricted Weed Seeds that are sold in each pound of seed. It is believed that if the number of Restricted Weed Seeds is less than the maximum number allowed by State law than the Restricted Weed Seed will not become an invasive problem. Each state has their own list of Restricted and Noxious Weed Seed. They are listed in a booklet published each year by the US Department of Agriculture entitled State Noxious-Weed Seed Requirements Recognized in the State Noxious Weed Seed List.
- Last date the seed was tested for Germination.
- Bulk Pound Quantity of seed contained in the bag.
- Pure Live Seed (PLS) Pound Quantity of seed contained in the bag.
© 2012 Granite
