DRYING AND CONDITIONING OF DIRECT–HARVESTED TIMOTHY SEED

An experiment is described in which S48 timothy seed, direct harvested at 3 stages of ripeness, was dried in layers 6 in. deep, at air temperatures from 75–135° F, immediately after harvest and after periods of from 1 to 3 days conditioning with cold air. Germination results for non-conditioned seed showed good agreement with those obtained in the previous year. The quality of seed hulled during threshing was inferior to that remaining unhulled after threshing, but the latter was more susceptible to high air temperature during drying. The relationship of the seed obtained in this experiment to commercial seed is discussed and a scheme for the practical application of the results will be presented in a subsequent paper.