Studies on the quality of selected imported vegetable seeds in Trinidad

Evaluates physiological seed quality of the five most popular vegetables (tomato, cucumber, lettuce, cabbage and watermelon) planted in Trinidad. The handling and storage of both sellers and farmers of these vegetable seeds were investigated. Farmers were asked if they had any complaints about the physiological quality of the seeds they were receiving. Several quality tests were performed in the laboratory on seeds purchased from selected local outlets. These included standard germination and vigour tests and moisture content determinations. Greenhouse trials were also performed and preliminary tests were done in the field on selected samples. Both Cascade and Captain varieties of tomato gave very good results during testing. The Kono Cross variety of cabbage gave consistently poor results for all outlets sampled and this was attributed to the advanced age of the seeds, their high moisture content and the low viability of the original lot. There were also some noticeable quality problems with the Migonette Bronze variety of lettuce. Some of the cucumber and watermelon samples as well as samples of the other varieties of cabbage and lettuce tested for quality gave unacceptable results. Interviews with wholesalers retailers and farmers showed that the most popular seed types purchased were tomato, cucumber, watermelon, cabbage and lettuce. Most of the seeds imported into Trinidad came from seed housed in the United States and Japan and the most common material in which seeds were received and sold was hermetically sealed containers. The majority of wholesalers and retailers repackaged seeds in polyethylene, however, many farmers did not purchase large amounts of repackaged seeds. The majority of farmers interviewed did not store their seed supply for long periods. Several of the problems resulted from pests and disease and a few were because of poor physiological quality. It would seem that farmers have grounds for complaints because of the numerous samples tested for quality, which gave poor results. Suggests that poor quality seeds are being imported, marketed and sold in this country; further work is needed to ascertain the quality of seeds at the point of entry into Trinidad and the effect of handling practices by local outlets.