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The Viability of Seeds as Affected by the Siloing Process

U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Dairy Industry

ABSTRACT

Seeds of some of the farm crops and of the more common weeds were placed in the silo along with corn or alfalfa at the time of filling. When the silage was fed down to the seeds they were removed, dried at room temperature, and tested for germination by the Division of Seed Investigations, Bureau of Plant Industry. Twenty-nine lots (or kinds) of seed were buried in silage for the study. Duplicate samples of 22 lots were stored in the office and tested for germination to compare their viability with that of the samples in the silo. Detailed results of this work are shown in the following tables.

When the 29 lots of seed were removed from the silo and tested, all seeds failed to germinate except some of those in the samples of Lespedeza sericea, bindweed, and American dragonhead mint. There was a high percentage of hard seeds in the samples of Lespedeza sericea and bindweed and a very small percentage in the samples of sweetclover seed that survived the ensiling process and the germination test.