Process for determining the soundness of sowing seeds and their

Details Process for determining the soundness of sowing seeds and their Process for determining the soundness of sowing seeds and their

1983-10-14

1986-07-29

Reeves, Robert B.

Classifying, separating, and assorting solids

Sorting special items, and certain methods and apparatus for...

Condition responsive means controls separating means

73432PS, 209590, 209910, B07C 500

Patent

active

046027165

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention concerns a process for determining the soundness of sowing seeds and their soundness-dependent germinative ability, and apparatus for carrying out the process.


BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The process according to the invention relates the determination of germinative ability of seeds to the examination of their soundness or integrity, with the latter also affording a possibility for classifying the seeds according to their germinative ability.


DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

Means and processes are known for classifying and/or sorting of seeds according to their germinative ability wherein, in accordance with the laws of sampling of mathematical statistics the germinative ability of samples taken from a given quantity of seed is determined in percentage terms and from this value extrapolation or deduction is made to the germinative ability of the whole quantity of the seeds, expressed as a percentage. A common characteristic of these known means is that the seed samples tested cannot thereafter be utilized, bacause the testing is destructive. Such examination or test may, for instance, involve germination carried out between papers; experimental germination in the soil; and treatment with triphenyltetrazolium chloride to demonstrate the vitality of the seeds. A known process for demonstrating the germinative ability of pea seeds is to soak the seeds for 24 hours in de-ionized water and to measure change in electrical conductivity.
Common drawbacks of the known processes and means for destructively testing seeds include that the seeds tested may thereafter no longer be used, that results of the test become available only after a relatively long time, generally several days, and that in principle the processes are not suitable for continuous sorting.
Devices for performing seed classification according to germinative ability on the basis of certain physical characteristics of the seeds are known. A common characteristic of these devices is that they operate non-destructive testing processes. Such a device is, for instance, a sifter or screen to separate out shrivelled, dried up seeds. Seeds of excessively low density may be sorted out by e.g. known centrifugal separators. A known apparatus for separating seeds with injured hulls is the magnetic separator. For detecting larger surface blemishes and colour differences in the hull or skin of the seeds selective colour sorting devices are known.
A common drawback of known non-destructive seed selecting devices is that they all examine a given external physical characteristic of the seed and perform sorting on that basis. A decrease in the germinative ability of seeds may to a significant extent be caused by hairline cracks in the hull of the seed, by internal cavities formed in the seeds and by insect damage. These irregularities, which manifest themselves physically, cannot be shown up by devices which operate on non-destructive testing principles.
The known processes (germination) for classifying seeds and the corresponding devices or means have the advantage of reliability but have the disadvantage that they take a long time to perform the tests and that they destroy the seeds under test. For these reasons they are suitable only for a subsequent determination of the relative germinative ability, that is, they cannot be utilized directly in or integrated into the technological process of agriculture. Their use does not lead to seeds of improved relative germinating power.
The advantage of known devices which classify on the basis of external physical characteristics is the fact that they are non-destructive and that they can be integrated into a given technological process, while their disadvantage is that the process is not sufficiently reliable because it fails to take into account a number of important factors, as explained above.


SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aim of the invention is to provide a non-destructive process and apparatus for determining the soundness or integrity of seeds and the ascertain their germin

REFERENCES:
patent: 2570485 (1951-10-01), Rieber
patent: 3127016 (1964-03-01), Baigent
patent: 3560754 (1971-02-01), Kamentsky
patent: 4147620 (1979-04-01), Artiano et al.
patent: 4212398 (1980-07-01), Parker et al.

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