ISTA Laboratory Rostock
In response to the interest of scientific and farming circles, an agricultural experimental station was founded in Rostock in 1875. In 1873, a seed testing station was established for Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz and spatially and organisationally assigned to the already existing (since 1870) fertiliser testing station.
Its first director, Prof. R. Heinrich was not only a farmer but also a plant breeder and continuously expanded seed testing at his station:
- 1875: 145 samples
- 1890: 1340 samples
- 1913/14: 3359 samples
In 1908, Prof. F. Honcamp took up the post of director and increasingly focused the station’s activities on animal nutrition.
In 1936, he was followed by Prof. K. Nehring. As the new director was very interested in all aspects of agricultural research, the station began to expand its testing activities from 1946, increasingly focusing on seed testing and other areas.
- 1946: 4293 samples
- 1950: 14435 samples
- 1953: 12719 samples
With the dissolution of the Länder in 1953 and the separation of seed testing from the responsibilities of the testing station some time later, seed testing was assigned to different institutions.
Following the German reunification, an Agricultural Testing and Research Agency (LUFA) was set up anew in Rostock in 1991 and seed testing could again assume the role it already had in 1875.
The seed testing laboratory has been accredited by ISTA since 1992 and is entitled to issue ISTA certificates. As a matter of principle, quality tests are effected in accordance with the ISTA regulations. The major crops in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are cereals and grass crops, large-grained leguminosae and oil seeds, with cereals making up approximately 75 percent of all crops. About 4,500 to 5,000 samples from the entire area of responsibility are tested every year, approximately 500 samples within the scope of seed marketing controls and about 1,000 samples from private customers (cytology, electrophoresis, etc.).
