Excerpts from the report Introduction: Moisture content of seeds is one of the most important factors in the maintenance of seed quality. From time of harvest, through steps of marketing to time of planting, seed moisture varies. The variation is affected by initial moisture content and the environment to which the seed is exposed. If the moisture content rises above certain critical levels for any appreciable time period, there is danger of undesirable stimulation of physiological processes within the seed with consequent weakening and loss of viability. Knowledge of moisture content is needed to decide whether seed should be dried down before storage or shipment and to determine proper conditions of storage. In this study air-oven procedures have been standardized to determine accurately the moisture content of 32 common agricultural and vegetable seeds. For 23 of these seeds, there has been no generally accepted standard method to determine moisture. The only laboratory instruments required for this procedure are a constant-temperature air oven and an analytical balance.