Wheat School: Getting to the root cause of a poor germination test

Testing wheat seed for fungal disease is important for a few reasons. The basic test for germination and vigour will tell you how viable that seed is, but if your germination rate is down, that basic test won't tell you why it's down — and you may have to increase seeding rate because of the low germination rate, which increases costs. By testing for fungal disease, upping the seeding rate might be avoidable. "You may be increasing your seeding rates based on that low germination but you may be able to address that problem better if you have an idea of what diseases are in that seed," says Jeremy Boychyn, agronomy research extension specialist with Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions. #wheat #agriculture #farming Website: https://www.realagriculture.com/wheat... Find us on our other social media platforms: Twitter:   / realagriculture   Instagram:   / realagriculture   Facebook:   / realagmedia