So, you want to be a seed grower?
Required information: •
All seed crops have to be registered by the merchant with NIAB. • Crop area (ha’s) – any changes to the area should be noted. • Previous cropping • Field name & OS number • Farm holding number.
Isolation: ➢
Seed crops must be properly isolated.
➢ This can either be a physical barrier, such as a hedge or a 2-meter strip for cereal seeds. ➢ For bean seed crops, this distance is much greater, depending on the size of the field.
Labels: ➢
For each crop sown, there must be at least 2 labels from the seed kept. ➢ One should be displayed at the field, and the other should be kept in the farm office with the field and OS number listed. ➢ If more than one seed lot is used in a field, then two labels from each lot should be kept.
Storage: ➢
Seed crops should be stored carefully and clearly labelled. ➢ Drying seed should be done with care. Excessive temperatures will damage the seed and lower the germination. ➢ Ideally seed will need to be stored until use, for spring crops, this could be up to 6 months.
Contamination: ➢
Contamination from other seeds should be minimised. ➢ Drills and combines should be cleaned out before starting a different variety or species. ➢ Previous cropping in the field needs to be considered - for C2 seed, there should be no other variety of the same species in the previous year. ➢ Wild Oats can be a major problem in seed crops. The tolerance varies with species, but there is no tolerance in any oat crop. ➢ Other weeds can also cause problems, but there are no field standards as such. ➢ Couch and Sterile brome within the harvest seeds can cause rejections. ➢ High weed infestations in the field, may cause a crop failure due to the inability to clearly check the crop. ➢ Within bean and pea crops, Wild Oats and Docks are in the regulations. ➢ Other cereal species within a crop can cause contamination. ➢ HVS has very strict tolerances on other cereal species. ➢ Loose Smut is the only cereal disease covered by the regulation, but other pests and diseases can affect the quality of the crop. ➢ Bean seed crops should be free from Ascochyta tabae .
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