Deana Namuth-Covert, Laura Pottorff
If you want to be a seed analyst or work in some way with seeds, learning about how seeds are produced and how genes control traits such as seed quality is important to your job. Learning about these two main factors in seed quality will help you appreciate what has gone into the seed before you have even worked with it. In this course, plant breeding will be thoroughly discussed to show how the genetic makeup of the plant can be modified to improve seed quality.
The SEED TECHNOLOGY EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM (STEP) is recognized by the Association of Official Seed Analysts (AOSA) and the Society of Commercial Seed Technologists (SCST) and has been offering online academic credit courses since 1998. The program is designed to develop the skills and techniques needed monitor seed quality and ultimately communicate to the end user if the seed is alive, healthy and clean. The traditional program is a main stay for training skilled seed analysts, the backbone of seed consumer protection. STEP has recently updated course content and is making these classes available to anyone that may benefit from seed technology education. Participants now have the option to take the courses either for academic credit to support their academic degrees or to take them for professional learning (nonacademic credit) at a reduced rate.
