On the Factorization of Trinomials over F3

We construct a table giving the parity of the number of factors in the factorization of trinomials over GF(3). The results depend on the value of the degrees of the monomials and their coefficients. We deduce results on the irreducibility of trinomials, on how to diminish the cost of irreducibi- lity testing over GF(3) as well as on the primitivity of trinomials.