Wildflower Native Grass Seed Specifications.pdf

I O W A D E P A R T M E N T O F T R A N S P O R T A T I O N | I O W A D O T . G O V

Wildflower and Native Grass Seed

Seed Analysis

All native grass and wildflower seed will be required to have a germination test, then a TZ test on the remaining un-germinated seed, which in combination will be used to determine the amount of live seed. Testing will also include purity and noxious weed analysis. Perform all testing for seed with a total quantity of 5.0 lbs. or greater at one of the following labs for each species of seed:

ISU Seed Lab Illinois Crop Improvement 2115 Osborne Drive 3105 Research Rd.

Ames, IA 50011-1050 Champaign, IL 61822

(515) 294-0117 (217) 359-4053 seedlab@iastate.edu

Wisconsin Crop Improvement SDSU Seed Testing Laboratory 1575 Linden Dr. Box 2207A 554 Moore Hall Ag Hall 219 Madison, WI 53706 Brookings, SD 57007 800-892-1341 (605) 688-4589 wcia@mailplus.wisc.edu sdsu.seedlab1@sdstate.edu

Indiana Crop Improvement Minnesota Crop Improvement Association Association 7700 Stockwell Rd. 1900 W Hendon Ave.

Lafayette, IN 47909 St. Paul, MN 55108 866-899-2518 (800) 510-6242 icia@indianacrop.org mncia@mncia.org

North Dakota State University Seed Lab 1313 18th Street North PO Box 5257 Fargo, ND 58105

(701) 231-5400

Seed with a total quantity of 4.9 lbs. or less will be exempt from the specified lab requirement. All other requirements and contract terms apply.

The seed analyst who performs the purity and germination tests must be a Certified Seed Analyst (CSA) through the Association of Official Seed Analysts (AOSA) or a Registered Seed Technologist mailto:seedlab@iastate.edu mailto:wcia@mailplus.wisc.edu mailto:icia@indianacrop.org

(RST) through the Society of Commercial Seed Technologists (SCST). The Seed Analysis Report shall be submitted to the contracting agency after the award and prior to shipping of any seed.

Bids may be rejected for the presence of weed seed as noted in the Seed Analyst Report. No weed species will be allowed that are listed in the North American Invasive Species Management Association (NAISMA) Weed Free Forage Minimum Certification Standards, Appendix A, Noxious Weed and Undesirable Plant List.

https://www.iowacrop.org/pdf/Forage/Weed_List.pdf

It is the intent to purchase as much Source Identified Class, Yellow Tag, Source/G0 – Iowa seed as possible. However, to fulfill the total requirements it may be necessary to purchase seed from neighboring states. If seed source or origin are from a state other than Iowa, indicate in the Schedule of Prices table the state, region or county, and distance from the Iowa border (ie: SW MN<50) as requested for origin or source.

Big bluestem, Canada wildrye, Virginia wildrye, Indiangrass, and Little bluestem must be debearded or equal to facilitate in planting.

Selection Groups for Bid Evaluation

Seed certified as Source Identified Class (YT), Source/G0 – Iowa (any location or multiple collection sites).

Vendor must indicate Source/G0 County or Counties.

Seed Certified as Source Identified Class (YT), Source/G0 – State other than Iowa

Vendor must indicate State and County or region of Source/G0 and approximate miles to nearest Iowa border.

The Iowa DOT reserves the right to select bids within this Selection Group based not only on price, but proximity of genetic source to Iowa and its similarity to growing conditions. This determination will be based on USDA hardiness zones to the north and south and rainfall zones to the east and west and EPA eco-regions. Seed from outside this area may or may not be accepted.

Seed Not certified as source identified class (Uncertified Seed)

Vendor must indicate State where seed is grown.

Some seed may be purchased from a second grower even when price is a little higher to obtain seed more regionally adapted for distribution to northern and southern counties.

Alternates

No alternate seed or seed in bulk (not PLS) will be accepted.

Bagging Requirements

Each item is to be bagged in paper, nylon or cloth bags. Heavy duty zip lock bags may be used for smaller quantities of wildflower seed.

Staples will not be used to fasten labels to any of the bags. All seed bags shall be labeled identical to IA DOT bid documents, the purchase order number, Genus, Species, Common Name, Origin (where grown), bulk weight in pounds, pure live seed (PLS) weight in pounds, percentage purity, percentage germination, percentage hard and dormant seed and percentage of pure live seed (PLS).

For all species (including those not required by the Iowa Seed Law) the labeling for purity shall also include percentage by weight of all weed seed, the name and rate of occurrence per unit weight of each kind of secondary noxious weed seed present, the percentage by weight of agricultural seed which may be designated as "other crop seed" other than those required to be named on the label, and the percentage of inert matter. The test date to determine the percentage of germination shall have been completed within a 9-month period prior to shipping, exclusive of the calendar month in which the test was completed. The seed analysis on the label shall be mechanically printed.