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 Consults SEED News - sept/oct 2003
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This section is coordinated by the professors from the Federal University of Pelotas -
www.ufpelsementes.com.br
Send your question to e-mail: silmar@seednews.inf.br
I've heard that the gravity table makes marvels in rice. Could you comment about that?
Rice seeds present great differences of specific gravity among them; therefore, the ones with lower weight have low vigor and the ones with high weight will originate vigorous plants, which will produce more. The gravity table is the equipment used to separate the seeds according to their specific gravity differences, being rice seeds one of the beneficiaries.
What is a laboratory accredited to ISTA?
To commercialize seeds it is necessary to test them for germination capacity and the purity state. For that, seed testing laboratories are accredited to an entity. In the case of ISTA, the accredited laboratories, besides their accomplishment of proper analysis, they may be also in charge of taking seed samples out of the lots for evaluation. This allows laboratories to emit Orange Certificates which are known worldwide.
I've observed that some seeds are sold through their cultural value. What does it mean?
There are species difficult to produce, to harvest and to clean, as in the case of some grasses. In this case, the germination and purity percentages are used to calculate the cultural value. You multiply the germination by the purity and divide by one hundred. Currently, with the technological progress, a few types of seeds are commercialized through their cultural value. Let us not forget that it is always possible to lower the seed price also lowering its quality.
I am planning to increase my seed production area and in order to do so I also need to increase my warehouse. How many bags per square meter of floor should I consider?
Nowadays, a bag can have from 10 to 50 kg. However, considering a soybean seeds bag of 40 kg, with a wall height of a six meters, it can be considered 63 bags per square meter of warehouse, or 14 bags for cubic meter.
I know that, nowadays, soybean seeds are being classified; however, I have noticed that in some lots the mixture of big and small seeds is still high. How can you explain that?
This fact can occur due to two causes: 1) the classification process is not being adapted, where many small seeds are being separated together with the big ones, and 2) the sieves used in the classification are not appropriate - usually, only two, in that one separates more than 80% of the lot.
In the seed production process, the drying is an essential operation, but it involves costs. Is it possible to say how much the costs can reach?
Indeed, the seed drying process is very important, because seeds do not mature all at the same time, showing variations in the seeds maturity in a single plant and among plants. Therefore, if we want to harvest them all dry, some of them will be already deteriorated from waiting. The drying costs, involving fuel, labor and equipments, rarely goes beyond 0,25 dollar cents per bag of 40 kg.
According to the Plant Protection Law, it seems that seed producers need permission to multiply seeds from a protected variety. If yes, how can this permission be obtained?
Indeed, the seed producer that whishes to multiply seeds from a protected cultivar must have permission from the owner of that cultivar. Such permission is obtained, usually, through royalties payment, according to the amount produced. With the Plant Protection Law it is now possible to have new and better cultivars available to farmers.
All machines possess a certain capacity. How is that measured?
In general, the product that enters in the machine is weighted for a period of time, usually one or two minutes. Therefore, if the sum of all the parts is 80 kg in one minute, the machine will have a production of 4,8 tons per hour. The production is obtained according to the product that enters and not to the one that comes out of the machine.
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