When establishing a new turf area, nothing is more important than the quality of the seed chosen for the job. If you start out with bad seed, you are going to have to live with the consequences until the area is killed and reestablished. That is expensive and should be avoided if possible.

Part of the problem that faced when finding the highest quality seed is defining what quality means. What is quality seed for a roadside mixture is different than high quality seed for a lawn or a professional sports turf area. Seed for roadside establishment is going to be used in an area expected to contain a wide variety of species and seed that contains a small percentage of other grass species than the primary one listed on the label is fine. For sod production, seed with even a small percentage of other grass species is unacceptable because they will contaminate the stand. Lawns, golf courses, and sports fields also require seed that is free of weeds and other perennial grass contamination to provide the purest stand possible. Seed for roadsides and other general uses and seed for professional areas are both available for sale, generally by the same dealer, and it is up to you to get the right seed for the job that you’re planning.

Another problem is that there is a lot of bad seed available on the market. When I visit the seed display in big box stores or in local hardware stores, I find that at least half of what is on the shelf should never be used for lawn establishment. Much of it contains from 50 to 90% annual ryegrass. While annual ryegrass comes up quickly, it is an annual and will not give you satisfactory long-term results in the lawn. It should not be used on high quality turf areas. This doesn’t mean that annual ryegrass has no use in the turf industry. For roadside and other low maintenance areas, particularly where steep slopes require rapid germination, annual ryegrass is a good choice. But for high-quality turf areas it should be avoided.

Perennial ryegrass is a much better choice, and even then, the cultivar of perennial ryegrass is important and not all perennial rye is recommended for quality turf. The way seed laws are written, they must tell you the truth about what is in the package. But if the truth is that the seed is not suitable for the establishment of high-quality turf, and you buy it for that purpose, the problem is yours. It is common to see seed packages on the shelf with a picture of a beautiful lawn on the front that is half the price of the other seed around it, but would be completely unsuited for use in the establishment of a high-quality lawn. If the seed label clearly says that this seed will not work, it is up to you to know how to read that label and decide not to buy it.

There are no bargains when it comes to high-quality seed for the turf market. The availability of truly high-quality seed is limited and it will cost more than the lower quality seed being sold for roadsides and other low-maintenance areas. Both types will be available side-by-side. It makes no sense to go with the cheap seed. I often see people who have spent thousands of dollars preparing the seed bed around a new home go to a discount store and buy cheap seed. The difference between the two types is often a matter of less than $100. A small fraction of what the whole process costs. The year after they bought the bad seed, they must kill the area and then go buy good seed and do it again. It is far less expensive and time consuming to do it right the first time.

To find high quality seed, begin with the seed label (Figure 1). Each of the 50 states have their own seed laws that govern the labeling of seed. Seed labels are necessary to prevent unscrupulous dealers from packaging and selling things that are not seed, as seed, which used to happen before seed laws existed. However, remember that what is good seed for one use may not be good seed for another use and that it is still up to you when it comes to buying seed for your particular job.

While seed laws vary somewhat from state to state, there are certain standard items that will be found on labels in most states. They include the following items:

Species and variety: The species and variety of each grass in the package must be accurately labeled. If the seed is Kentucky bluegrass, by law that needs to be listed on the label.

Pure seed: The pure seed will be listed on a percentage-by-weight basis. A pure seed percentage will be listed separately with each species and variety. This is the percentage by weight of the package that is actual seed.

Germination: The germination percentage of each pure seed is generally listed on the package, although sometimes a percentage germination of the total seed mixture may be the only number listed. This is a percentage germination of the pure seed and not of the total weight of material in the package. Seed should generally have at least 85% germination. It is also important to look at the date tested. Seed germination decreases with time, and if the testing date is more than two years old, germination may have decreased significantly from that listed on the label. Some states require that a “sell by” date be listed. Make sure that the seed does not exceed that date if it is provided. If the seed is 90% pure seed with an 87% germination, .90 x .87 = .78% of the total weight of the package is actual live seed that would be expected to germinate.

Inert matter: This is the percentage by weight of non-seed material in the container. It includes materials like chaff, soil particles, rock, trash, and any other materials that are not seed. There is usually some inert matter in every package, but it should not exceed 2 to 3%.

Weed seed: The percentage by weight of all weed seed in the package.

Other crop seed: The percentage by weight of the seed of any plant that is grown commercially as a crop anywhere in the United States.

It would be reasonable to assume that if you have all of this clearly listed on the label, that this would be enough information on which to base an opinion about the quality of the seed. However, that may not be the case. There can be many hidden things that are not clearly presented. A little weed seed may not be a problem. On the other hand, it may be a big problem depending on the weed species involved. “Other Crop” is another potential problem. Some crops may have no impact on the quality of the seed. However, if the seed is Kentucky bluegrass and the other crops are bromegrass or tall fescue, that presents a very big problem for the use of that seed for lawn establishment or for professional use. Again, this type of seed would be of no concern for use in roadside turf but is a big problem for lawns or sod production. Specific information on the weed species and other crop species is not required by most states, only the % by weight of each material found in the container.

This fact presents a problem for those trying to get the highest quality seed available. You cannot always tell just from the information on the label. When it comes to buying seed for quality turf areas, it is “buyer beware”. There are many ways for those trying to pass off bad seed as good seed to hide the true quality of seed. This means that it is best to buy your seed from dealers you can trust. There are seed dealers that base their reputation by providing the best quality seed for the turf industry. They are very careful about offering only the best seed for use in the professional market. They will still have lower quality seed for roadsides and other lower quality areas, but they are careful not to sell that seed for situations where a high-quality seed is required. A good source of information on which seed suppliers are worthy of your trust is to check with local sod producers. They are usually quite knowledgeable about who carries the best seed in the area.

Your seed dealer may offer “certified” or “blue tag” seed (Figure 2). A bag of seed will include a blue tag alongside the seed label attached to the bag, or it may be a part of the seed label as in Figure 1. The blue tag is a guarantee that the seed you are buying is actually the cultivar listed on the bag. If you are buying Bewitched Kentucky bluegrass, the seed labeling laws guarantee that you are getting Kentucky bluegrass, but if it is not certified it may or may not be Bewitched. If it has the blue tag, it is guaranteed to be Bewitched and not some other less expensive cultivar. Certification is not a guarantee of quality in and of itself, but the certification process that allows the dealer to display the blue tag is very difficult and expensive. Generally, only the highest quality seed will have the blue tag and it is worth the extra cost to buy certified seed. Again, the extra cost will be a tiny fraction of the entire cost of the job.

Figure 1. Seed label with the blue tag superimposed over the label.

 

Figure 2. Some seed may have the blue tag separate from the label.

Nick Christians, University Professor of Horticulture, Emeritus, Iowa State University

books: http://www.amazon.com/Nick-Edward-Christians/e/B001H6SB7A/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

turf blog: http://www.iaturf.blogspot.com/

Fundamentals of Turfgrass Mgt. 5^th ed  http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1119204631.html

Web site:  https://www.hort.iastate.edu/directory/nick-christians/

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