An agar-sheet method of testing the efficiency of seed treating machines.

The efficiency of a seed treating machine depends to a considerable extent on the uniformity with which the fungicide used for treatment is mixed with the seed. The uniformity of treatment may be ascertained by placing treated seeds, at 2-in. intervals, on large sheets of inoculated potato-sucrose agar. In the preparation of these sheets, melted, acidified agar is poured in a uniform layer over panes of glass and, when the agar has solidified, it is dusted heavily with spores of Penicillium purpurogenum Stoll. After the treated seed is placed on the agar, the culture is covered with a sheet of glass and incubated for two days at room temperature. The uniformity of treatment may then be determined from the variability in diameter of the zones of inhibition around the seeds. This technique may also be used for determining the comparative potency of different fungicides, and the rate at which they are lost from the seed.