Seed Laboratory

It is hard to know what might have been in the mind and heart of Professor George Hyslop and others when he started the Oregon State University Seed Laboratory in 1909 in a small room in the Agronomy wing of what was to become the Agriculture Hall. He started with a crank operated divider, a blower with airflow regulated by a screw valve, and a few water-cooled germinators. Now, the OSU Seed Laboratory provides services to the seed industry in the US and around the world and is accredited by the International Seed Testing Association (ISTA).

When Professor Hyslop first started his lab, it was a time when there were very few seed laboratories in the nation and the Oregon Seed Industry was still in its infancy. When people talked about seeds in those days, it was usually in regards to wheat and potato seeds. Looking ahead to the next 100 years, it would have been impossible to imagine the breadth, depth, and dynamism of the seed industry in Oregon and the nation, but they surely had a vision.

A hundred years later, Oregon is the leading grass seed supplier in the world and is known as the “grass seed capital of the world”. It ships seed across the country, to Europe, Asia, and South America. Needless to say, the OSU Seed Lab was not content to watch the events from the fences; rather it worked shoulder to shoulder with its seed communities both in good and difficult times. It made every possible effort to develop useful methods, organize educational services, and provide testing services to a dynamically growing agricultural community. After Seed Certification was established in 1916 and fully vested in 1937, the Seed Lab provided a testing service that was critical for certification tagging. Through the efforts of the Oregon Seed Growers League, the OSU Seed Lab moved to the Quonset Huts (brought in from what was then the Army military base ‘Camp Adair’) in 1945. In 1989, the Seed Lab moved again to its current modern building located on Campus Way. These changes made it possible to respond to the growing demand for testing and to accommodate newer and more modern equipment for testing.

Looking back at its first 100 years, it is clear to see that there are many contrasts between seed testing in 1909 and now. The laboratory started by providing purity and germination tests to its customers. Today, there are many more tests in various areas of seed quality to serve the needs of today's dynamic seed industry. In the purity area, the OSU Seed Lab offers regular purity testing for a wide range of crops and native species as well as US, Australian, and Canadian crop and weed exams; noxious weed exams; pest and disease, soil, undesirable grass seed, and sod quality exams. The lab also offers testing to detect Orobanche species in red clover, and noxious weeds in compost, birdseed, and animal feed. Other tests include germination, viability by tetrazolium, fluorescence, grow-outs, seed moisture content, seed weight, vigor tests, ploidy by cytometry, immunoblot assay to detect endophyte in seeds, Clearfield® bioassay, and varietal identification. In addition, special seed testing studies, research, and consultation are available based on customer needs.

Some of the highlights and anecdotes from the OSU Seed Lab’s history

• Initially, it was managed cooperatively by the USDA and the State of Oregon. Its objective was to serve the Northwest region of the USA and California. In 1954, the management was transferred to the Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences, Oregon State University, which is its current home in Corvallis.
• In 1929, the fluorescence test was introduced to distinguish perennial from annual ryegrass. This test became a key test to certify these species. The test is still in use but has some limitations. For this reason, in the late 1990s, a grow-out test was introduced by the OSU Seed Lab to determine the plant-type produced by fluorescing seedlings. DNA-based test is being used by some customers. Further research is being conducted to find better tools to determine annuality.
• “During WWII, the lab tested a large number of vetch samples, which were planted across the nation for green manure (source of nitrogen), because the sodium nitrate used in those days as fertilizer, had been used up to make explosives for the war. Needless to say the lab got backlogged.” (Verbal communication with Louisa Jensen in 1997).
• In the 1960s, along with a USDA team of engineers, the lab was instrumental in developing a range of tabletop equipment for testing. Some of the models produced at that time were manufactured by various companies and are still being used in many labs today.
• The laboratory is active in research and teaching. It was the home of seed science and technology leaders with well-known reputations such as, Louisa Jensen, Don F. Grabe, Te May Ching, Ed Hardin, and Rodger Danielson.

  OSU Seed Laboratory providing workshops and training services.

• Many students who attended OSU and were inspired by the vision and the mission of the university and the seed lab to work in seed research, teaching, and development. Some former students are: Cadmo Rosell from Uruguay who joined the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization; Carlos Briciani from Chile who joined the Organization of American States; Larry Copeland of Michigan State University; Dennis Tekrony of University of Kentucky; Loren Weisner who joined the National Germplasm Center in Colorado; Ruben Sader and Ronaldo Andrade from Brazil and many others. Adriel Garay went back to Peru and countries in Central and South America before returning to serve as manager of OSU Seed Lab (retired in December 2015).
• Chromosome counting was used as a method to differentiate ploidy levels. With the new global and fast moving seed industry, this method reached its limit. In 1999, the laboratory introduced flow cytometry as the standard method to determine the amount of DNA in plant cells. This method is now used to differentiate seeds with different ploidy levels and is widely used for ryegrass by breeders and growers.

  OSU Seed Laboratory used the chromosome counting method in the past.	Ploidy by cytometry was introduced as an alternative method to the chromosome count.

• In the early 2000s, the lab developed what has become known as an Ergovision Inspection Station in cooperation with Mater International. This equipment uses a high quality microscope, high quality fiber optic light, and automated movement of seeds through the viewing area. It provides an ergonomic work position. After using it, analysts did not want to go back to the traditional purity board.
• The end of the last century was beginning of the information age. A state of the art database and computer programs were developed in partnership with the OSU Seed Certification Program. Now customers can enter their sample information directly on the web and access test results and test reports in the same way.

  Office work in 1948 using typewriters.	Office work in 2009 using computers with a custom database and software program.

• Since 2005, the lab has been busy working to develop Uniform Blowing Procedures (UBP) for grass seeds. It started by introducing the concept of Uniform Master Calibration Samples to find the air velocity needed to make the optimum separation. This was done for Orchardgrass and Kentucky bluegrass in AOSA. Seeing that this method will be needed in the future, work is in progress to develop similar user-friendly methods for other species.
• Today, the OSU Seed laboratory is ISTA accredited and can test seed for international export and issue the “Orange International Certificate” or “Blue International Certificate”. This helps customers in today’s global seed market.

Highly committed people led this lab to become one of the leading labs in the nation. They were Norma Waddle (1910-17), Grace M. Cole (1917-19), Agnes Ryder (1919-22), Bertha C. Hite (1922-29), Leatha D. Bunting (1929-30), Grace Cole Fleischman (1930-38), Louisa Kanipe Jensen (1938-68), Ed Hardin (1968-80), Rodger Danielson (1980-96) Adriel Garay (1997 to 2016), and David Stimpson (2016-present).

The contributions the Seed Lab has made over the years would not have been possible without the support from a broad community. This includes seed growers, cleaners, and dealers that trust this lab to test their samples, the agricultural community and other seed users who use our test reports to determine the quality of seed they are planting the seed laboratory communities who work with us shoulder to shoulder and the scientists and professionals who challenge and stimulate new concepts and methods. Finally, thanks to all the analysts who provide tender, loving care and dedicate attention to each and every sample tested.