Key facts
Start date: 21 October 2025
Cost: $845 including GST per person
Duration: 2 days
Delivery mode: In person
Location:
Seed and Grain New Zealand Inc
Innovation Park
Building 6
185 Kirk Road
Templeton
Christchurch
Time commitment: The course will run full days. The first day will be from 9am to 5pm and the second from 8.30am to 4.00pm. The course format is a combination of lectures, group and individual exercises. Electronic copies of the course material will be supplied in the week preceding the course. Hard copies will be available at the course. Course participants are advised to familiarise themselves with the course material before the course begins.
Overview
Seed quality is the starting point for much of the food that is produced globally either for direct consumption or as feed for stock. Production of high-quality seed and retention of seed quality is a key component of food and nutritional security. Poor-quality seed has limited value in the marketplace. Seed quality can be lost at any point in the seed value chain from production through to distribution. Appropriate seed management is needed to ensure seed quality is not lost. This course will focus on post-harvest seed quality, where and why loss of seed quality can occur, how to assess seed quality and technologies that can be used to enhance seed quality.
By the end of this course, participants will understand how seed needs to be managed to retain quality and why these management decisions are applied. This information will be able to be used to inform decisions on seed management and answers to questions from external stakeholders.
Who this course is for
This course is aimed at those involved in seed quality assurance, production, processing and storage and will therefore appeal to field representatives, warehouse staff, clerical staff and support staff working in the seed sector.
Course content and structure
Topic 1: Assessing and enhancing seed quality
This will cover:
- germination and priming
- seed vigour
- seed analysis certificates
- new technologies for assessing seed quality.
Topic 2: Seed processing
This will cover:
- treatments
- drying
- cleaning.
Topic 3: Factors impacting seed quality
This will cover:
- seed moisture
- seed health.
Meet your facilitator
Craig McGill
Craig is a Senior Research Officer in Seed Science and Technology, where he is involved in teaching and research in seed science and technology, in particular, seed quality, biosecurity, germination, dormancy, storage and new technologies for seed quality assurance. Craig has supervised both Master and PhD students in these areas.
Craig is a former President of the International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) and is currently a member of the ISTA Executive Committee. He is also a former Chair of the ISTA Moisture. He has contributed to ISTA workshops in the areas of seed moisture determination and quality assurance in seed testing in New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, Myanmar, India, Bangladesh and Kenya. Craig is also a co-editor of Agronomy New Zealand, the refereed Proceedings of the Agronomy Society of New Zealand.
Craig McGill
Craig is a Seed Science and Technology research officer of seeds of introduced and indigenous plant species. His work on indigenous flora centres around seed conservation through ex-situ seed storage. His work on introduced species looks at the transmission and viability of endophytes beneficial to the New Zealand pastoral sector in seeds.
Craig leads the New Zealand Indigenous Seed Bank project.
Robert Southward
Robert is a Senior Tutor in Agronomy and Seed Technology. His interests include agronomy, plant reproductive behaviour, seed production, seed processing and how these impact on seed quality. In addition, Robert has an interest in how quality systems can improve outcomes for all stakeholders involved in producing and using seeds.
Robert Southward
Registrations
To register your interest, please email Fiona Bardell at F.M.Bardell@massey.ac.nz.
Contact information
