CPC Best Plant Conservation Practices
to Support Species Survival in the Wild
Resources
Maternal Line Count Form
This spreadsheet assists seed collectors in processing seeds along maternal lines in accordance with the CPC Best Practice Chapter, “Conventional Seed Banking“. The form can be download below as an excel file:
SAFETY DUPLICATION GUIDELINES:
We recommend each seed lot be divided between two long term seed storage facilities (read more here). The “base” facility is typically either the institution that collected the seed or a long term seed storage facility in the region from which the seeds were collected. The backup facility is a second long term seed storage facility – CPC partners often use the National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation in Fort Collins Colorado. Each facility will receive 40% of the seed in individual maternal line packets (intended for long term storage) and 10% of the seed in a bulked curation package intended for viability testing and research. Overall, this means there should be four subsets of seed divided as follows: 10% Active at Base Facility, 40% Long Term at Base Facility, 10% Active at Back Up Facility, 40% Long Term at Back up Facility.
HOW TO USE THIS SHEET:
This spreadsheet assumes that you directly measure seed quantity for the first 30 individuals in the seed lot and then estimate the seed quantity of the remaining seed from the seed weight. The quantity and weight of seeds in the base and back up lots should autofill based on the percentages designated for each. Formulas will need to be modified if you have individuals too small to split or if you choose to count all seeds for all individuals. 
| Column descriptions | |
|---|---|
| Accession # | The unique identifier of the seed accession in your plant records systems |
| Directly Measured Seed Count | Number of Seeds Directly Counted- We recommend only directly counting seed for 30 individuals per seed lot and weighing the rest if possible. These values will be used to estimate seed count for the remaining individuals |
| Directly Measured Seed Weight (g) | Mass of seed weighed on analytical balance (in g) - weigh seed of all individuals if you wish to estimate seed count from weight |
| Quantity of Seed EstimatedFromWeight | Number of Seeds per individual estimated from seed weight using the average weight per seed of first 30 directly measured individuals |
| Est. Qty - Base Curation Packet | Number of Seeds in the Base Curation Packet Estimated as 10% of total seeds processed - this packet is bulked so it does not show amounts for each individual seed |
| Est. Weight (g) - Base Curation Packet | Mass of Seeds in the Base Curation Packet Estimated as 10% of total seeds processed - this packet is bulked so it does not show amounts for each individual seed |
| Est. Qty - BaseLong-TermStorage | Number of Seeds in theLong-TermStorage at Base Facility calculated as 40% of seeds processed per individual |
| Est. Weight (g) - BaseLong-TermStorage | Mass of Seeds in theLong-TermStorage at Base Facility calculated as 40% of seeds processed per individual |
| Est. Qty - Back Up Curation Packet | Number of Seeds in the Backup Curation Packet Estimated as 10% of total seeds processed - this packet is bulked so it does not show amounts for each individual seed |
| Est. Weight (g) - Back up Curation Packet | Mass of Seeds in the Backup Curation Packet Estimated as 10% of total seeds processed - this packet is bulked so it does not show amounts for each individual seed |
| Est. Qty - Back Up Long Term | Number of Seeds in theLong-TermStorage at Backup Facility calculated as 40% of seeds processed per individual |
| Est. Weight (g) - Back Up Long Term | Mass of Seeds in theLong-TermStorage at Backup Facility calculated as 40% of seeds processed per individual |