1. Uniformity in Kentucky Bluegrass Germination
Performed By
Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture

2. Objectives of the Referee
Comparing the Germination results among the Seed Analysts
Surveying the uniformity among the Seed Analyst participants from both AOSA and SCST

3. Procedures of the Project
Participants received 9 blind Kentucky Bluegrass samples
Participants required to test them according to the AOSA Rules without pre-chill
Results are recorded in percentage (%)

4. Sample A, Sample D and Sample I
Same Lot Number
Camas Kentucky Bluegrass
Test Date 12/10
The Mean of Sample A, D and I are 84, 82 and 84 respectively.
Standard Deviation for A: 4.47, D: 3.91 and I: 4.59

6. Sample B, Sample E and Sample H
Same Lot Number
Solar Eclipse Kentucky Bluegrass
Test Date 4/13
The Mean of Sample B, E and H are 77, 76 and 76 respectively
Standard Deviation for B: 4.72, E: 5.04 and H: 4.78

8. Sample C, Sample F and Sample G
Same Lot Number
Ginger Kentucky Bluegrass
Test Date 8/13
The Mean of Sample C, F and G are 85, 85 and 85 respectively
Standard Deviation for C: 2.52, F: 3.16, G: 2.77

10. Applications There are 2 scenarios: 1. Results chosen for labeling:
a. Higher Germination percentage than Regulatory laboratories: violation can be issued if the result is out of germination tolerance with Regulatory laboratories
b. Lower Germination percentage than Regulatory laboratories: no issue
2. Results from Regulatory laboratories:
a. Higher Germination percentage than label: no issue
b. Lower Germination percentage then label: issue violation if the result is out of germination tolerance with labeled results.

11. If the percentage was used for labeling
Example of Scenario 1
If the percentage was used for labeling 90 89 88 87 85 83 82 81 80 77 69
Number of times it would fail the other percentages as regulatory tests 15 9 6 2 1
This case, the result is labeled result, and the rest of the results are regulatory results
406 possibilities when comparing analyst to analyst
Total 77 times it would fail the other percentages as regulatory tests
There are 18.97% chance of possibility the analyst will be out of tolerance when compare one to one
If the label is 90%, it would fail 15 times
If the label is 69%, it will be within the tolerance of the regulatory tests

12. If the percentage was the regulatory result
Example of Scenario 2
If the percentage was the regulatory result 90 89 88 87 85 83 82 81 80 77 69
Number of times it would be out of tolerance with the other results as the labeled % 1 3 6 11 27
This case, the result is a regulatory result, and the rest are labeled results
406 possibilities when comparing analyst to analyst
Total of 77 times it would be out of tolerance when compare with the label %
There are 18.97% chance of possibility the analyst would be out of the tolerance when compare one to one
If Regulatory result is 90%, it would be within the tolerance of the labeled percentage
If Regulator result is 69%, it would be 27 times out of tolerance of the labeled percentage.

13. Observations
The Mean of each sample is consistent with its respective samples
The Standard Deviation are higher in older crops: less consistency in seedling evaluation
The newer the crop, the more consistency in seedling evaluations: low Standard Deviation.
Base on the scenarios:
Sample A, D and I: 18% of the time the result would be out of tolerance when compared one to one
Sample B, E and H: 15% of the time the result would be out of tolerance
Sample C, F and G: 6% of the time the result would be out of tolerance

14. Observations Cont. According to Germination Tolerance Table 14J:
Sample A and B has 1 significant outlier that is out of tolerance with the rest of the group. They are also out of tolerance of their respective samples.
1 outlier within tolerance of oneself with the same lot number samples: showing consistency in seedling evaluation
82% of the analysts that tested A, D and I samples are within tolerance of each other when comparing one to one (12/10)
85% of the analyst that tested B, E and H samples are within tolerance of each other (4/13)
94% of the analyst that tested C, F and G samples are within tolerance of each other (8/13)

15. Thank You to all the Participants