Department Tightens Up

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32068, 16 August 1969, Page 9

Department Tightens Up

If measures being taken by his department were successful it was expected that there would be a better product for release as breeders’ seed in the seed certification scheme. Mr N. L. Shillito, farm advisory officer (seed production) of the Department of Agriculture in Christchurch, said in a paper given to this week’s conference of the Weed and Pest Control Society.

In his absence his paper was Introduced on his behalf by Mr A. V. Lithgow, superintendent of the seed industry for the department Mr Shillito said the department had been criticised for the presence of undesirable weed seeds in lines of breeders’ seed. The department accepted responsibility for the standard of this seed and admitted the criticism, in sotne cases at least, was well warranted. However it was only fair to point out that the department was only the agent in the production of breeders’ seed and relied on the skill and knowledge of growers and seed processors. Under recent amendments to the agreement for the growing of contract seed, seed could now be rejected if it contained the following weed seeds: nassella tussock, ragwort, ox-eye daisy, hoary cress, Carduus spp., Rumex spp. other than cheep’s eor-l

.reL Hordeum «pp., and storksbiU. The department could now also refuse to take delivery of any line in which the total weed seed content exceeded 0,2 per cent, and lines of white clover which contained mere than 0.1 per cent of suckling clover or more thana trace of sheep’s sorrel. These new conditions, it was hoped, would lessen the chances of undesirable weed seeds occurring in lines of breeders* seed. In the selection of contract growers checks were now being made on the standard of seed they had produced in commercial certification over the last few years. A grower could acquire a reputation as a top seed producer on the basis of consistently high yields. His purity standards, however, might not be satisfactory for breeders’ seed. It was hoped to establish

closer liaison with firms carrying out the machine dressing of contract grown lines. The department had to make sure that those concerned with the production of breeders’ seed realised its importance in the success of the scheme as a whole. Earlier Mr Shillito said there appeared to be a growing awareness of the value of seed certification in the control of certain weeds which were considered to be of economic importance. For the last two seasons growers of certified seed had been told that the presence of nodding thistle at field inspection would result in the rejection of the area. The response to this regulation had been most gratifying and only 33 areas had been rejected because of nodding thistle in the 196869 season. This implied that a considerable measure of weed control could be obtained if similar conditions were imposed for other serious weeds. However, should the regulations for freedom from weeds be made too stringent, there was always a danger that some growers would be discouraged from growing certified seed and this, would defeat the objects of the scheme and had to be avoided at all costs.