(1) The official sampling procedure for sampling all seed is as follows:
(a) In order to secure a representative sample, equal portions must be taken from evenly distributed parts of the quantity of seed to be sampled. Access must be allowed to all parts of that quantity.
(b) For free-flowing seed in bags or bulk, a probe or trier is used. For small free-flowing seed in bags, a probe or trier long enough to sample all portions of the bag or container must be used.
(c) Nonfree-flowing seed, such as certain grass seed, uncleaned seed, or screenings, difficult to sample with a probe or trier, are sampled by thrusting the hand into the bulk and withdrawing representative portions.
(d) Composite samples must be obtained to determine the quality of a lot of seed, such as the percentages of pure seed, other crop seed, weed seed, inert matter, noxious weed seed, germination, varietal purity, freedom from disease, and effectiveness of seed treatment. Individual bag samples may be obtained to determine whether the seed is of uniform quality.
(2) Sampling equipment. The trier must be designed so that it will remove an equal volume of seed from each part of the bag through which the trier travels. Unless the trier has partitions in the seed chamber, it must be inserted into the bags horizontally.
(3) Obtaining representative samples.
(a) For lots of one to six bags, sample each bag and take a total of at least five cores or handsfull.
(b) For lots of more than six bags, sample five bags plus at least ten percent of the number of bags in the lot. (Round numbers with decimals to the nearest whole number.) Regardless of the lot size, it is not necessary to sample more than thirty bags.
| Examples: |
No. bags in lots | 7 | 10 | 23 | 50 | 100 | 200 | 300 | 400 |
No. bags to sample | 6 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 15 | 25 | 30 | 30 |
(c) For sampling bulk seed to obtain a composite sample, take at least as many cores or handsfull as if the same quantity of seed were in bags of an ordinary size. Take the cores or handsfull from well-distributed points throughout the bulk.
(d) Seed in small containers must be sampled by taking entire unopened container in sufficient numbers to supply a minimum size sample as required by the AOSA rules for testing seed. The contents of a single container or the combined contents of multiple containers of the same lot must be considered representative of the entire lot of seed sampled.