Alfalfa Standard Check Seed
(Non-Proprietary) Requests

Alfalfa Standard Checks are maintained and distributed by the USDA-ARS National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) from the main seed storage facilities at Washington State University - Pullman. This service has been arranged between NPGS and the alfalfa seed breeding industry. Standard checks are used as reference materials in standard tests (e.g., fall dormancy, disease resistance, pest resistance) and are provided as released varieties by different seed companies to be available to the scientific/research community. They are placed and accessed from this location only for use as references, not for breeding. As stocks run low, the industry replenishes them by stringently following industry seed increase techniques. When receiving standard check seed, requestors should note important information regarding shipment: receipt date, seed lot inventory number, and other identifying information.

Please notify Brian Irish, USDA-ARS Temperate-Adapted Forage Legume Geneticist/Curator (Brian.Irish@ars.usda.gov), and/or Debby Samac, USDA-ARS Research Plant Pathologist and NAAIC Standard Tests Committee Chair (Debby.Samac@ars.usda.gov), of any performance issues with the Alfalfa Standard Checks.

For Standard Check Seed, please contact:
Brian Irish
USDA-ARS PGITRU
Temperate-adapted Forage Legumes
24106 N Bunn Rd
Prosser, WA 99350-9687
Phone: (509) 786-9316
e-mail: brian.irish@ars.usda.gov

Researchers seeking proprietary checks should contact source companies directly.