Seed quality control begins the moment a shipment arrives. Before a seed lot enters active inventory, Alliance of Native Seedkeepers verifies its identity, examines its physical condition, draws a representative sample, selects the required analyses, and records the final disposition. Germination is central, but it is not the only measure. Moisture, purity, insects, mold, debris, damage, treatment, and lot traceability can change whether a shipment is suitable for storage, packing, or sale.
Receiving begins with identity
Each shipment is matched to its purchase record, supplier or grower, crop kind, variety, supplier lot number, treatment status, quantity, container count, and supporting test documents. The receiving team also records the date, condition of the containers, and any discrepancy between the paperwork and the seed that arrived.
A variety name is not enough by itself. The seed must remain connected to a defined lot. If two containers cannot be shown to share the same source and handling history, they remain separate until the records establish otherwise.
Moisture, insects, mold, damage, and debris are examined before testing
The container is inspected before it is opened. Wet liners, punctures, broken seals, compression, leakage, heat, and mixed labeling can reveal problems that are not visible in a small sample. Once opened, the seed is examined for condensation, caking, musty or sour odor, fungal growth, live insects, larvae, webbing, frass, exit holes, broken seed, immature seed, discoloration, chaff, soil, stones, pod fragments, and other crop or weed seed.
A suspicious lot stays segregated. The next action may be moisture testing, cleaning, drying, insect management, seed health work, supplier review, or rejection. The goal is not to move seed through the building quickly. The goal is to preserve a sound lot and stop a compromised lot before it reaches the packing line.
Representative sampling controls the value of every result
A laboratory result describes the sample that was tested. It represents the lot only when the sample was drawn correctly. AONSK samples across containers and across the seed stream rather than taking only the cleanest seed from the top. Primary samples are combined into a composite sample, then reduced with a method that preserves the original proportions of pure seed, inert matter, other crop seed, and weed seed.
The sample record stays tied to the lot, test ID, sampler, date, container map, and storage location. Retained samples allow a result to be reviewed later without losing the connection to the original lot.
The analysis is selected to answer the actual quality question
| Question | Primary analysis | What it tells us |
|---|---|---|
| What is physically in the lot? | Physical purity and noxious weed seed examination | Percent pure seed, inert matter, other crop seed, weed seed, and contamination risk. |
| Will the seed produce satisfactory seedlings? | AOSA germination test | Percent normal seedlings under the prescribed crop-specific method. |
| Is dormant seed still alive? | Tetrazolium viability test | Viable tissue in seed that has not germinated during the standard test. |
| Will the lot tolerate storage? | Moisture test | Moisture status that affects longevity, heating, mold, and conditioning decisions. |
| Does the lot perform under stress? | Vigor testing | Relative performance under stress or rapid-aging conditions. |
| Is a pathogen involved? | Seed health testing | Presence of selected fungi, bacteria, viruses, or other disease concerns. |
| Is the variety true to type? | Grow-out or trueness-to-variety testing | Plant and fruit characteristics compared with a known standard or description. |
Release is a documented quality decision
A lot can be released, recleaned, dried, resampled, retested, referred for specialized analysis, returned, rejected, or retired. The release record ties the decision to the lot, sample, test method, result, analyst review, and storage or packing status.
This is how a seed packet earns confidence before it reaches the garden. The testing system does not begin with a percentage. It begins with control of the seed lot.
