Durability and renewal of the official seed sample from the long-term storage facility

The article presents the research results of crop seeds sowing qualities. The purpose of the study was to determine germination energy and seeds germination of official samples stored in long-term storage facility. The studies were conducted during 2024 in the laboratory of plant variety quality indicators of Ukrainian Institute of Plant Variety Expertise. In the process of research computational and statistical methods – analysis and synthesis – were used to prepare conclusions. A subgroup of samples with an average germination rate of 93–98 % was identified: soft and durum wheat, triticale, and corn. The wheat, barley, triticale, oats and rice with increasing storage time reduced the viability of the seeds. In corn, after storage for 8 and 7 years within the harvest year the germination of seeds was 95–96 %. Increasing of storage duration period of solid and two-color wheat seeds up to 14 and 15 years respectively contributes to better grain viability of 92–93 % and 84 %, respectively. After storage of millet seeds up to 9 years, germination energy and viability energy were 98– 99 %, and with increasing storage duration to 12 years the seeds viability decreased to 96 %. In buckwheat the viability of seeds was 80 % for storage up to 16 years, but with increasing of storage period to 19 years it decreased to 30 %. With increasing storage to 15 years the viability of legume seeds decreases to 50–90 %. With increasing storage time in sunflower up to 8 years, and in rapeseed up to 15 years the seeds viability decreases to 90–93 % and 96–97 % respectively. To continue storage in long-term storage facility the samples with a similarity of less than 80 % must be replaced. Only high quality, filled, dry seeds are laid for storage. Before placing the official sample on long-term storage, it is advisable to determine its initial viability. Key words: gene bank, germination energy, seed viability, germination monitoring, seed bank, varietal seeds, seed germination.