SEED PROCESSING

Co-operation, tolerance, communication and planning are necessary at harvest 1 time, and can help minimise delays and difficulties when off-loading seed at the processing plant. In normal circumstances the first areas of concern on the seed's arrival into store are the condition of the seed and the certification requirements. These areas have been dealt with in other papers, so this paper will concentrate on the post-harvest treatment of seed. A common fault in ryegrass harvesting is to. include a large amount of light trash, straw and empty glumes in the sample. This creates problems when dressing, for although the rubbish can be removed relatively easily and the weight loss may not be excessive, production from the plant is likely to be reduced because of the volume passing through the machine. Furthermore, in an effort not to lose good seed the operator may tend to cut back on 'blast'. This in turn may result in an inferior Purity and Germination test because of the inert matter content.