HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1984-03-21, Page 50r
The Farm Edition, Week of March 21, 1984 - 19
Pedigreed seed: More than meets the eye
',Successful farmers in Canada find that
Pedigreed seed is the single most important
investment in their crop management
system. By starting with Pedigreed seed, the
farmer is guaranteed the greatest possible
return from all other inputs.
A great deal of time and care is taken to .
produce a Pedigreed seed variety; each
evolves through a five production stage,
government inspected system.
The Breeder seed is the initial seed stock
produced by a plant breeder or possibly the
first supply of an introduced variety.
Breeder seed is not a seed of commerce.
Select seed comes from the production of
Breeder seed. It is produced by Select seed
growers whose experience in growing seed
is recognized by the Canadian Seed
Growers° Association. The select seed
grower is qualified by provincial committees
and undergoes a probation period. A select
seed plot is small (one hectare or less) and is
grown in rows for intensive cultivation and
roguing for removal of "off types". Select
seed is also not a seed of commerce.
Foundation seed is the product of the
select seed grower and is, in turn, grown
under strict regulations. If all requirements
are met the production is tagged and sealed
and is generally sold to other seed growers
for the production of Registered and
Certified seed.
Registered seed is produced by a seed
grower from foundation seed. Specific regu-
lations concerning isolation from other crops
and crop purity as well as seed inspections
must be adhered to before Registered seed
can be sold.
Certi'"ed seed, the most widely used of the
Pedgireed classes, is produced from Regist-
ered seed and is the last class to ,carry a
variety name. Certified seed is recommend-
ed for farm use to produce high yielding
commercial crops. Certified seed may be
sold in bulk by seed growers who Are ade-
quately equipped to handle it in this manner.
Government agencies inspect and approve
the Pedigreed seed so that the Canadian
farmer and international customers can be
guaranteed they are purchasing the very
best seed possible. A field grown the inten-
tion of producing a Pedigreed seed harvest
must be inspected. A formal application for
crop inspection is submitted by the grower to
the Canadian Seed Growers' Association. If
the application if approved, an inspector
from the Plants Products Division of Agricul-
ture Canada walks the field involved, makes
a report and sends a copy to CSGA. The
grower must verify with Seed Sealing Tags
found on the seed bags, that Foundation or
Registered class of seed was sown in the
field involved. The inspector determines if
the field was maintained at specified
distances from other fields of the same or
similar crop varieties. This prevents crossing
which contaminates the genetic purity of the
crop. Isolation requirements are more
stringent the closer the field is to Breeders'
seed on the classification scale. Growers
must adhere to cropping history restrictions.
A crop certificate is issued by the CSGA if
the crop is produced in accordance with the
Regulations.
Once the crop is approved, it must -still be
harvested, cleaned, graded, bagged and
sealed before it's sold. This means more
seed sample inspections which ensure the
seed complies with the mechanical stand-
ards of the Seeds Act and Regulations.
To ensure mechanical purity, the grower
must know the weed populaton of his crop.
Weeds must be removed and the seed
graded before being offered for sale. Weeds
defined as prohibited by legislation cannot
be present in seed. An appropriate tag
signifying the specific class of Pedigreed
seed is placed on each bag of seed (white for
Foundation seed, purple for Registered and
blue for Certified).
CSGA firmly believes that, by using
Pedigreed seed, the grower protects his
large crop investment in equipment, land,
fertilizer, chemicals' and labour. CSGA
devotes its time and effort to pfovide
farmers with the best possible seed avail-
able.
When it comes to Pedigreed seed....
there's more than meets the eye.
Get Cracking- Make your own Easter eggs
"Colouring and decorating eggs for
Easter has long been a tradition in many
countries all over the world," says Monica
Beaumont, a food and nutrition specialist
with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and
Food's rural organizations and services
branch.
Below are many decorating suggestions
that both children and adults will enjoy.
Before - you start to decorate, you must
prepare the eggs either by hard cooking or
removing the shell contents.
o ark eggs, place eggs in a
saucepan, add salt and enough, cold, water to
cover eggs. Cover and bring rapidly just to a
boil. Reduce heat and let eggs stand in hot
water for 15 to 20 minutes. Cool immediately
under cold running water to prevent dark
rings around yolk.
If you wish to save the decorated eggs,
blown eggs are the best. First wash and dry
the eggs. Using a clean darning needle,
pierce both ends of the egg; slightly enlarge
the hole at one end. Push needle into egg to
break the yolk. Hold the egg over a bowl and
blow into the small hole. Rinse shell out well
with water and #11ow to air dry.
Use the raw egg within one to two days or
freeze it. To freeze, add salt, sugar or syrup
depending on the future use. Place in a
freezer container leaving a small hheead space.
To colour the eggs, try using a felt pen,
food colouring, fabric dye, enamel or poster
paint. If you intend to eat the hard cooked
eggs, make sureyouuse a non -.toxic
vegetable dye because the egg shell is
porous.
A fun and easy decorating idea is
decoupage eggs. These are made by gluing
small pictures, dried flowers or stickers on
plain or coloured eggs. When dry, coat with
spray varnish, decoupage coating or white
glue which will dry clear. Do not use brush
on varnish because this may discolour the
pictures.
Children will love making animal eggs.
Using scrap pieces of coloured paper, fabric
and some imagination, they can make a
who►e co r als—r��a�p1
rabbits can be made by adding paper ears
and a cotton ball tail to the egg.
Don't forget to make a personalized egg
which you can use for the egg hunt and then
use as place cards for the dinner table.
To make personalized eggs, write the
name of the person on the eggs with a crayon
or wax pencil. Dip the egg in the dye; all but
the name will be coloured. For the egg hunt,
hide the personalized eggs around the house
and have each person find his or her
ownegg. The reward? A basket of Easter
treats.
Decorated eggs also make beautiful
' centrepeices for the table. To make a
centrepiece, pile the eggs on a base of green
straw. Also, decorated eggs can be used as
gar gmg arounti d e s-te"r-itatn.
After Easter is over, use left over hard
cooked eggs in salads and casseroles, make
devilled eggs or use them as garnishes for
casseroles and vegetables.
ARE YOU PLANNING TO
ERECT OR RENOVATE
FARM BUILDINGS?
/WO
KASE VAN EN HEUVEL
Const. Co. Ltd.
FARM AND COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS
R. R. 2, Goderich KEN JANMAAT, SEAFORTH
524-9176 527-1858 after ix