Seed quality
- Can be defined as collection of seed properties that affect how well plants establish, and which are important for the value of seed for sowing purposes.
- These properties can be placed into the following:
a) Description: Species and cultivar purity; physical purity, uniformity, seed weight.
b) Hygiene: Noxious weed contamination, seed health
c) Potential performance: Germination, vigour, moisture content, seedling emergence, storability.
Seed mixture and sowing rates
- The species chosen for farm enterprise for a pasture should
a) Suit the situation and the prevailing climatic condition
b) Be compatible with each other
c) Have similar grazing management requirements
d) Have similar level of palatability
- In theory, a sowing rate as low as 1kg/ha could be used for perennial grass, but success would require a well-prepared seedbed, benign environmental conditions and excellent weed control.