ISTA Laboratory Wünsdorf
The Saatenanerkennungs- und Samenprüfstelle in Zossen - Wünsdorf is the official authority for seed testing, national seed certification and seed marketing controls under the German Seed Trade Act (Saatgutverkehrsgesetz) in the Land of Brandenburg. As Section 44, it forms part of the Land Office for Consumer Protection, Agriculture and Land Consolidation (Landesamt für Verbraucherschutz, Landwirtschaft und Flurneuordnung; LVLF), Division 4 - Agriculture and Horticulture.
Seed testing has a long tradition in Brandenburg. It began with the foundation of an agricultural experimental station in Dahme under the direction of Prof. Dr. Hellriegel in 1857. In spite of many political, organisational and locational changes over the years, seed testing in Brandenburg has always been conducted by various scientific and technical experts until today.
Since 1997, the seed testing station has been situated in Wünsdorf – with modern laboratory equipment which is constantly updated.
Laboratory organisation and major tasks:
- seed sampling
- analysis of purity and determination of other seeds by number, weight determination
- germination testing, tetrazolium testing (of cereals), seed vigour testing (cold-test, brick grit test)
- determination of moisture content
- verification of varieties of cereals and potato with the help of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis
- photometric determination of the quality of cereal seeds treated with fungicides
- seed cleaning testing
The tested species mainly include cereals (especially Secale cereale, Triticum aestivum, x Triticosecale), grasses (especially Lolium sp. and Festuca sp.), legumes (especially Lupinus angustifolius and Pisum sativum), oilseeds (especially Linum usitatissimum). In addition, various vegetables, flowers, herbs and medicinal species are also tested for seed quality every year.
The seed approval and certification station has been an accredited ISTA member laboratory (DELD15) since 1992.
More information
More information on the laboratory or contact details can be obtained at the Website of the Ministry for Rural development, Environment and Consumer protection Brandenburg (only available in German).
