Method for grouping a plurality of growth-induced seeds for commercial use or sale based on testing of each individual seed
A method and system for producing a group of growth-induced seeds for commercial use or sale, the method including monitoring a physiological indication and/or morphometric indication for a seed, automatically determining if the monitored seed has a specific characteristic, separating the monitored seed having the specific characteristic into a group of seeds for commercial use or sale so that each and every seed in the group has been monitored and determined to have the specific characteristic.
1. A method in a computer system for producing a group of growth-induced seeds for commercial use or sale, the method comprising:
subjecting a seed to a growth-inducing procedure;
monitoring, with one or more processors, the subjected seed for a rate of development toward a specific characteristic, indicated by one or more of a group including: a physiological indicator associated with the specific characteristic and a morphometric indicator associated with the specific characteristic;
determining, with one or more processors, whether the seed has a specific rate of development toward the specific characteristic;
stopping subjecting the seed to the growth-inducing procedure when the specific rate of development is achieved;
preserving the seed determined as having the specific rate of development; and
separating the seed determined as having the specific rate of development into the group of growth-induced seeds for commercial use or sale so that every seed of the group has been monitored and determined to have a rate of development similar to the specific rate of development.
2. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the specific characteristic is a plurality of characteristics and the rate of development toward the specific characteristic includes a plurality of rates which correspond to the plurality of characteristics.
3. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the monitoring and the determining are each performed repeatedly for each of the subjected seeds.
4. A method according to claim 3 , further comprising sorting at least a portion of the group of germinated seeds for commercial use or sale in one or more of a group including a package, a plurality of germinated seeds, a plurality of seedlings, a plurality of young plants, a well plate including a plurality of germinated seeds, a seedling growing tray including a plurality of seedlings, a plurality of cells of a seedling growing tray, and a plurality of plugs.
5. A method according to claim 3 , wherein the commercial use or sale includes one or more of a group including planting, seeding, growing in pots, growing in trays, growing in cells, sowing outside in a field, sowing into synthetic media, arms length transfer, and sale.
6. A method according to claim 3 , further comprising sorting at least a portion of the group of germinated seeds for commercial use or sale as a group of germinated seeds where each seed has reached a similar development stage with respect to the other seeds of the portion.
7. A method according to claim 3 , wherein monitoring for the development stage includes monitoring for a metabolic signal associated with the specific characteristic.
8. A method according to claim 7 , wherein monitoring for the metabolic signal comprises monitoring for oxygen consumption.
9. A method according to claim 8 , wherein monitoring for oxygen consumption comprises one or more of a group including determining fluorescence quenching and determining chemoluminescence.
10. A method according to claim 3 , wherein monitoring for the development stage includes monitoring for one or more of a group including a physiological indicator, a morphometric indicator, a combination of a plurality of physiological indicators, a combination of plurality of metamorphic indicators, and a combination of a plurality of physiological indicators and a plurality of morphometric indicators.
11. A method according to claim 10 , wherein monitoring for the combination of the physiological indicator and the morphometric indicator, is done at one of substantially the same time or at different times.
12. A method according to claim 3 , wherein the monitoring for the morphometric indicator comprises taking spectral images of morphometric information of the subjected seed.
13. A method according to claim 3 , further comprising stopping the growth-induced seed from further subjection to the growth-inducing procedure.
14. A method according to claim 13 , further comprising subjecting the seed to one or more of a group including temperature, a growth regulator, and drying.
15. A method according to claim 14 , wherein the temperature is in the range of 0 to 5° C.
16. A method according to claim 14 , wherein the growth regulator is one or more of a group including ancymidol, chlormequat chloride, daminozide, paclobutrazol, and uniconazole.
17. A method according to claim 16 , further comprising adjusting the rate of development of the seed.
18. A method according to claim 3 , wherein the specific characteristic is an ability to germinate under specific environmental conditions or stresses.