How To Choose The Right Seeds

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Seeds are the key to the harvest

For the stable production of high yields of vegetables, the quality of the seed, namely the seeds, is of decisive importance. The main indicators of seed quality are their varietal purity, germination, germination energy and viability. Seed germination depends on their maturity, period and storage conditions. A preliminary assessment of seeds can even be carried out visually: high-quality seeds must be well executed, filled.

Faintness and wrinkling may indicate that the seeds were harvested unripe. Among the seeds there should be no admixtures of seeds of other crops, litter, as well as ugly, broken or small specimens. Only full-fledged seeds are the key to a future high yield. In order to correctly decide which seeds - varietal or hybrid to purchase for sowing, you need to figure out what is their difference

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Hybrid seeds are usually denoted with the letter F, and the number next to this letter indicates which generation it is. Such seeds are obtained by crossing two specially selected parental forms, and hybrid plants surpass the parents in all respects. This superiority in them is not genetically fixed, therefore, seeds from hybrids are not collected and used. In subsequent generations, traits splitting occurs, and yield, as a rule, drops sharply. Hybrids are usually strictly specialized and require adherence to the necessary agricultural technology. All recommendations for care and feeding must be followed. Without this, hybrids will not be able to fully manifest their benefits.

Varietal seeds imply greater plasticity, plants from them, as a rule, are less whimsical, more resistant to many diseases and put up with other unfavorable factors. But in terms of yield, they can be twice as low as hybrids.

An important criterion for the quality of seeds is their germination. The seeds of those vegetable plants that develop and ripen inside the fruit have the highest germination (80-95%): tomato, cucumber, squash, melon, watermelon, squash, pumpkin, etc. This is due to the fact that when the fruit ripens, the seeds ripen in it at the same time. In the same plants, the seeds of which are in panicles, pods or umbrellas (or in other types of inflorescences), the flowering, which means that the ripening of the seeds is stretched, and by the time of collection the seeds on the late shoots do not have time to mature. In celery, the germination rate of seeds ranges from 40-80%, in crucifers - 60-90%, in onions - 50-80%, in dill it is about 60%. Seeds with such germination belong to class 1.

Therefore, when buying seeds, you should focus on the lower germination rate in order to correctly calculate the required number of seeds for sowing on the prepared area. It should also be borne in mind that long-stored seeds have a reduced germination energy, that is, even with a preserved high germination capacity, seedlings from such seeds are usually delayed and are uneven. (You can get some information about the shelf life and germination of seeds from the table on this page.)

Culture	Shelf life of seeds, years	Germination, sowing dry seeds, days	Minimum germination temperature, ° C
Zucchini, squash, pumpkin	6-8	4-8	10-12
White cabbage, cauliflower, kohlrabi	4-5	3-6	2-3
Black onion, batun, leek	3-4	8-18	2-3
Pepper	3	8-16	8-13
Tomato	4-5	4-8	10-11
Eggplant	3-5	8-14	13-14
Cucumber	6-8	4-8	13-15
Watermelon	6-8	6-15	15-17
Melon	6-8	5-10	15-17
Celery	1-2	12-22	3-4
Parsley	2-3	12–20	3-4
Salad	3-4	4-10	2-3

High, and, most importantly, stable yields can be obtained only by growing regionalized vegetable crops. After being tested for several years, the varieties and hybrids that show the best results in a given area will be considered released in that particular area.

Only here, in the soil and climatic conditions familiar to themselves, the zoned varieties and hybrids are able to fully demonstrate their qualities. Now there is such a thing as "author's seeds", usually at the time of sale they are still on trial or registered as an "amateur variety" (if they are not suitable for mechanized cultivation). Among the amateur varieties, there are very interesting and prolific plants of excellent taste. Hobbyists presenting their seeds usually try not to lose their face.

In conclusion, it should be noted that although now the choice of seeds is huge and many new products have appeared, you still should not abandon the old, proven varieties and hybrids at once. It is better to test any novelty first on your site, and then draw conclusions.

Also read:

How to prepare seeds for sowing