Patent ID: 8459463

Claim:
A method of sorting seeds comprising the steps of: providing a first seed group having a preferred genetic characteristic; providing a second seed group lacking the preferred genetic characteristic; marking one of the first or second seed groups with an additive having an activatable color characteristic; combining the first and second groups of seeds to create a combined seed group; sampling the combined seed group; activating the additive in the marked seed group within the combined seed group sample; and segregating the seeds of the first group from the seeds of the second group in the sample by optical recognition of the activated color characteristic; wherein the first and second seed groups are visually indistinct, wherein the additive comprises a fluorescent marker and the activatable color characteristic corresponds to the emission wavelength of the fluorescent marker, wherein the additive is activated by exposing the combined seed group sample to light corresponding to the activation wavelength of the fluorescent marker, and further comprising the step of placing the combined seed group sample on a background corresponding to the color of the non-fluorescent seeds when exposed to the light.