Category: Under the Microscope

For this episode of Under the Microscope, we take you into the depths of BioVision Seed Labs' Sherwood Park laboratory, to hear last minute seed test recommendations from Sydney Vos, marketing coordinator with BioVision. In the video, Vos gives an overview of four of the most important tests to consider, including: Germination Cool Stress Vigour... Read More

After years of filming Under the Microscope over Skype, and in crowded trade show hallways, we are beyond excited to publish the next two episodes of our series with BioVision Seed Labs, filmed from their Sherwood Park laboratory. In this episode, Holly Gelech, business development manager, walks us through the company's treasured herbarium. When most... Read More

For most of us, seed testing is something to be done during or immediately after harvest, and right before seeding. But, there might be a reason or two to put the egg nog back in the fridge and hit the bins for a sample. For those relatively new to seed testing, Sydney Vos with BioVision... Read More

Dry summer conditions and a fall with off-and-on-again moisture have seed samples showing less disease than the past few years, overall, but perhaps a few extra issues with germination. "What (late season moisture) is causing is pre-sprouting," says Holly Gelech with BioVision Seed Labs. "One of the critical factors that growers should be considering is... Read More

While this growing season may have some pulse growers wishing Mother Nature would turn the water taps on, the past few seasons have been tough on pulse crops when it comes to root rots and seedling diseases. Particularly in 2013, farmers were stumped by pea fields hard-hit by "wet feet." Turns out, there was a... Read More

Testing for clubroot falls into an interesting classification — it's a disease, yes, but it's in soil. Do you send samples to a soil lab or a seed lab? In this edition of Under the Microscope, Holly Gelech, business development manager with Biovision Seed Labs, walks us through how labs test for clubroot and while... Read More

The hangover of 2014's long, drawn out, wet harvest has already taken a toll on seed supplies of certain crop types for 2015, says Holly Gelech, Biovision Seed Lab's business development manager. The full fallout, however, has likely not been realized. "Farmers did a great job this fall getting seed samples in early," says Gelech,... Read More

Using glyphosate as a harvest aid and weed management tool most certainly has its place on the farm, but it carries a measure of risk, as well. Go in too early and not only can you rob the crop of yield, but the resulting seed may also end up damaged by the chemical application. Related:... Read More

Calling them the soybeans of Alberta isn't being fair to soybeans, but faba beans are enjoying a similar surge in popularity, due in part to the crop's ability to fix its own nitrogen and broaden farmers' marketing options. Being a relatively new (or newly popular, depending on how you look at it) crop for many... Read More

In farming, we want two very opposite things from seed — we want a seed that stores well, perhaps even long term, but also a seed that, the moment conditions are right, it speedily germinates and becomes a hardy seedling. You can't always have it both ways, of course, and the inner workings of a... Read More