Pulse School: Protect germination potential with gentle seed handling

Harvested seed quality is heavily influenced by weather conditions throughout the growing season. Summers with drought conditions, as well as heat blast, can lead to an increased occurrence of mechanical damage in pulse seed lots. While the Prairies experienced both last year, the quality of seed going into 2025 is quite stable, says Carey Matthiessen, senior seed analyst at 20/20 Seed Labs, in this episode of RealAgriculture's Pulse School. Germination rates are up in the 90s, which means that the seed being planted will have its best chance of success, she says. The lab is seeing just a little mechanical damage. Going into the next seeding season, Matthiessen says that it is important for growers to pay attention to their seed test results because even with low mechanical damage rates, damage can quickly increase as the seed is handled. Matthiessen notes that root rot diseases—such as fusarium, aphanomyces, and aschochyta—were present in 2024 seed samples and could pose a risk again this season. "The more knowledge you can have about the quality of your seed, just the better, more informed decisions that you're going to make," Matthiessen says. Website: https://www.realagriculture.com/ #pulses #farming #agriculture #peas Find us on our other social media platforms: X/Twitter:   / realagriculture   Instagram:   / realagriculture   Facebook:   / realagmedia