Under the Microscope: Identifying Chemical Damage, the Loose Smut Test & 2013 Crop Germ Rates

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underthemicslideCan you spot a chemically damaged wheat seedling from a healthy one? Unlike some other damage or infection, chemically damaged cereal seedlings don’t always look that bad off in the very early stages. In fact, seedlings can even put out a mostly healthy shoot, but upon further investigation the trained eye will notice that the rooting system isn’t up to snuff.

That’s just one of the problems showing up in the 2013 crop that Holly Gelech, business development manager with Biovision Seed Labs, sees every year. Chemical damage is caused by a too-early pre-harvest application of glyphosate. Seed damaged by it may look OK, but won’t produce a viable plant, so it’s important to know whether or not your potential seed lot has been affected. In fact, any cereal crop that has been treated with a pre-harvest glyphosate treatment is not recommended for seed use, regardless.

Read More: Proper timing of a pre-harvest glyphosate application on wheat

In this episode of Under the Microscope, the first in our third season of the series, Gelech discusses chemical damage, as well as the general quality and health of the 2013 crop, from cereals, to pulses and soybeans. You won’t want to miss the visuals on the true loose smut test (it’s very cool) and Gelech also adds some details on some interesting forage seed results she’s seen so far this year. All that and more is in the video below.

Read More: See past episodes of Under the Microscope by clicking here.

If you cannot see the embedded video, click here.

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