Description
Support plant breeders and seed production teams by producing, processing, and testing seed from field and lab programs. Set up, operate, and maintain seed laboratory and conditioning equipment; collect representative seed samples; and prepare test lots. Record and analyze data to document germination, purity, vigor, and seed health. Assist with field inspections and cultural practices to maximize seed yield, quality, and resistance to pests and diseases while ensuring regulatory and traceability compliance.
- • Record seed testing and production data.
- • Prepare data summaries, reports, and charts documenting seed quality results.
- • Inspect seed crops for pests, diseases, off-types, and isolation compliance.
- • Perform nursery and increase plot duties, including planting, rogueing, detasseling, and controlled pollination.
- • Operate seed production and conditioning equipment such as threshers, cleaners, gravity tables, treaters, and baggers.
- • Harvest, dry, shell, and clean seed lots.
- • Develop or refine procedures for germination, vigor, or seed health tests when standards are limited.
- • Maintain, calibrate, and repair seed lab and conditioning equipment.
- • Transplant or manage seedlings for parent line increase or testing.
- • Train or oversee seasonal staff in sampling, rogueing, and testing procedures.
- • Prepare and present demonstrations of seed lab or conditioning processes.
- • Evaluate field preparation, layout, and isolation distances to support seed production and minimize erosion.
- • Study fertilizer and irrigation regimes to optimize seed yield and quality while minimizing losses.
- • Record environmental data from production fields and warehouses to support IPM and storage quality.
- • Measure and weigh seed samples, treatments, and reagents.
- • Set up germinators, incubators, moisture meters, seed dividers, and other test equipment.
- • Prepare seed health or germination media and blotters following standard methods.
- • Examine seeds and seedlings to identify disease, damage, or mechanical injury.
- • Collect representative seed samples per AOSA or ISTA protocols.
- • Plan and supervise pest, weed, and volunteer control in seed fields and storage.
- • Respond to internal and customer inquiries about seed quality and test methods.
- • Prepare fields and isolation blocks for seed production, including tillage and bed preparation.
- • Perform laboratory and physical tests such as germination, purity, tetrazolium, moisture, cold, and accelerated aging.
- • Conduct varietal purity checks via grow-outs or rapid assays as required.
- • Treat, label, and package seed lots, ensuring traceability and regulatory compliance.
- • Manage seed inventory, storage conditions, and shipping documentation, including phytosanitary requirements.
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Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
