The tinkling sound of peas falling on a plate is helping a Dutch researcher to select peas most suitable for sowing in the cold, damp soil of the Netherlands.
Dutch farmers sow peas early in the year when the ground is still wet and cold. These are not the best conditions for germination because initially the seeds need to soak up water very slowly. Too much cold water in the seed can easily destroy its inner structure and kill the developing embryo. Cracks in the seed coat greatly reduce the chance of germination, so farmers need to weed out peas with cracked coats before they start planting.
Joost van der Burg, a researcher at the Centre for Plant Breeding and Reproduction Research in Wageningen, started dropping peas from a height of a few millimetres onto a sensor, called a force transducer. The sensor measures the forces which act on the ...
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