[SOS-PCA] Answers from Kew

[Mary_Byrne at blm.gov]

Hi Collectors,

Below are questions and answers regarding the feedback we received from Kew
last week. I plan on sending another batch of questions later in the week,
let me know if you have any additions.

Mary

1.If 20/20  or 19/20 seeds are 'good', then how could that collection
receive a 'C' rating? See OR930-RC6 and OR931-RC7.

The grading A-C is an estimate of seed numbers.  Even if all the seeds were
full, if there were not 3000 of them then they would be given a C grading.
We must stress that this is just an estimate.  If it is not possible to
recollect the seeds, do not worry as we will not throw the collection away
without letting you know.

2. At what point in the process is the entire collection rated and actual
quantity assessed? Would feedback be possible at this point, once the
entire collection has been evaluated?

Accurate seed numbers will be known in about 12 months time. (Yes, they can
provide feedback at this point.)

3. Are seeds ever discarded? How small does a collection have to be in
order for it to be destroyed?

Very occasionally seeds are discarded, we will let you know when they are
and usually there are less than 200 of them.

4. WY930 has been very concerned about their collections. WY930-04 had
20/20 empty, was all the material discarded?
Do they need to start all over or is there anything a second collection
could be added to? Could you provide some more detail about the state of
this collection?

The material from this collection will not have been discarded yet. When it
is cleaned a more thorough assessment will be made and a decision will be
made then.

The initial assessment is only a cut test and a quick estimate of seed
numbers.  Unfortunately time constraints mean that we cannot do any more
than that at the first stage.


Mary K. Byrne
Seeds of Success
National Collections Data Manager
202-452-7767
www.nps.gov/plants/sos/