Saturated Cold Test
Duration: 10 days (Seven days cold, three days warm)
The Saturated Cold Test provides an estimate of emergence under more severe conditions. It provides very useful information, but care must be taken that it doesn’t unnecessarily eliminates seed lots that may produce an acceptable field stand under less severe conditions.
Saturated Cold Test
Test Details
A paper towel (germination paper) is wrapped sideways around a plastic grid (“egg crate”) serving to wick water from below the stopper supported grid to two paper towels with a thin layer of soil on them. Prepared trays in a air tight germination cart is placed in 10°C at a minimum of overnight so that seed placed on the soil take up cold water.
Three samples of 200 seeds each are planted on each tray. The cart containing the trays is placed in 10°C for seven days without light and then moved to 25°C for three days. The number of normal seedlings, abnormal seedlings, and dead seeds are recorded. Since there is less growth than in a tray cold test, the analyst must detect finer differences in the seedlings.
Seeds may be turned so that the side of the corn kernel closest to the embryo is down against the soil or they can be left randomly oriented. Seeds being embryo down insures that seeds will start germinating more uniformly as it takes longer for water to reach the embryo of a corn seed that is embryo up. Tests that have seeds embryo down or randomly oriented will produce the same or very similar results, it just takes more a bit more care to evaluate a test with random orientation.
Iowa State University Laboratory Seed Testing Price List
Prices effective September 2022.
- Treating seeds cost per sample will be less depending on the number of samples.
- Testing by ISTA or Canada Rules (M&P) may require an extra charge.
| Crop** | Standard Germination | Purity Test | Noxious Exam | Tetrazolium (TZ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corn | $16 | $18 | $18 | $38 |
| Soybeans | $16 | $18 | $18 | $32 |
| Industrial Hemp | $25*** | $18 | $12 | Hourly |
| Cereals, Millet, Sorghum, Buckwheat, Flax, Sunflower, Cotton | $18 | $14 | $12 | $34 |
| Small-Seeded Legumes | $20 | $17 | $12 | $40 |
| Vegetables 1, Flowers 1 | $20 | $17 | $12 | $40 |
| Vegetable 2, Flowers 2, Herbs, & small-seeded species | $25 | $17 | $12 | $40 |
| Grasses: Category 1 | $25 | $25 | $21 | $40 |
| Grasses: Category 2 | $35 | Hourly | Hourly | Hourly |
| Grasses: Category 3 | $35 | $27 | $21 | Hourly |
| GRASS MIXTURES | $35/species | Hourly | Hourly | Hourly |
| Tree, Shrub, Weeds | $35 | Hourly | Hourly | Hourly |
** Mixtures, dirty, and/or low quality samples are subject to a $50.00/hour charge.
*** Significant ungerminated seeds at the end of a germ test are subject to an hourly charge.
Other Tests
| Test | Price |
|---|---|
| Sand Germination | $22 |
| Iowa Tray Cold Test | $17 |
| Accelerated Aging | $17 |
| Saturated Cold Test | $27 |
| Oven Moisture | $18 |
| Instrument Moisture | $10 |
| Bleach Test | $18 |
| Fast Green Test | $24 |
| Seed Count | $10 |
| Test Weight | $10 |
| Seed Treatment | $10 |
| Hourly Charge | $60 |
Other tests available on request – see below for misc. pricing / notes.
SMALL-SEEDED LEGUMES:
- Alfalfa, Clover, Prairie Clover, Sweet Clovers, Crownvetch, Guar, Lespedeza, Trefoil,Vetch, Hairy Vetch
GRASS CATEGORIES:
- Category 1: Brome grass, Fescue, Orchardgrass, Ryegrass (without fluorescence test)
- Category 2: Indiangrass, Prairie Cordgrass, Indian Ricegrass, Alkali Grass, Prairie Dropseed, Sand Dropseed, Lovegrass, Switchgrass, Bluestems, Reed Canarygrass, Gramas, Buffalograss, Creeping Foxtail Wheatgrass spp., Sporobulus spp., Stipa spp., Sugarcane, Teff, Three-awns
- Category 3: Bentgrass, Bluegrass, Buffalograss, Redtop, Timothy, Bluejoint, Juncus spp., Junegrass, Purpletop, Pennisetum
VEGETABLE CATEGORIES:
- Category 1: Vegetable species not in Category 2
- Category 2: Beet, Sugar Beet, Swiss Chard, Carrot, Celery, Chickpea, Lentil, Lettuce, Parsnip, Pepper, New Zealand Spinach, Peanut
FLOWER CATEGORIES:
- Category 1: Flower species not in Category 2
- Category 2: Alyssum, Begonia, Geranium, Hollyhock, Ipomoea, Lathyrus, Lobelia, Lupine, Malva, Petunia , Gentiana, Birdhouse Gourds, Partridge Pea, Sidalcea, Penstemon
How is testing invoiced and paid for?
- The report of analysis has the fee listed as well as test results, but payment is not made from the report. A billing statement will be sent at the end of the month, but payment isn’t made from this either. Finally, Iowa State University Accounts Receivable will mail an invoice and payment is made from that invoice.
- Payment is normally made by check as we don’t accept credit cards.