Influence of the Presence of Weeds and Other Impurities in Natural Alfalfa Seed on Finishing Machines Work and Seed Quality During Three Years

Abstract

The paper presents the results of three - year tests (I, II, III) of finishing alfalfa seed of three different purities. Natural alfalfa seeds were classified into three groups: 1) without the presence of quarantine weeds; 2) with the presence of quarantine weeds of Cuscuta spp. and Rumex spp., but in smaller quantities; 3) in which there were also quarantine weeds in larger quantities. The alfalfa seeds were cleaned on a selector with sieves and on a magnetic separator manufactured by Emceka-Gompper. Depending on the purity of natural alfalfa seed, the finishing process had to take place in one to three passes through a system of machines, which caused different finishing output and losses of finishing processed alfalfa seed (9.2 to 38.0%). After finishing, the highest quality of processed seeds was from the group with the highest quarantine weeds (group 3), which was reflected in the lowest percentage of hard seeds (16%) and the highest percentage of germination (83%) in all years. This is also shown by a highly significant negative correlation between germination and hard seed (r=-430) after three years of seed processing.