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Any new variety produced by the Scientist has to be multiplied to many times to meet the needs of the farmers. In order to ensure the availability of quality seeds, Government of India have enacted Seed Act 1966 and Seed Rules, 1968. The Seed (Control) order 1983 was promulgated under essential commodities act, 1955 in order to ensure the production, marketing and distribution of the seeds.

1. SEED ACT 1966

The objective of Seed Act is for regulating the quality of certain notified kind / varieties of seeds for sale and for matters connected therewith. The Seed Act passed by the Indian Parliament in 1966 was designed to create a ‘climate’ in which the seeds man could operate effectively and to make good quality seed available to cultivators. Seed Rules under the Act were notified in September 1968 and the act was implemented in October 1969. This act extent to the whole of India and it has 25 sections.

I. FILL UPS

1. The seed act was passed in the year_____.
2. _____ advise the central and state government regarding suitability of seed testing laboratories.
3. _____deals with all the problems related seed certification and to coordinate the work of state seed certification agencies.
4. _____ agencies take sample to inspect seed lot and certify seeds of any notified kind of varieties.
5. _____ initiate testing program and collaborate with state seed laboratory and designed to promote uniformity in test results between all seed laboratories in India.
6. _____ look into the grievances of certified seed producers against a seed certification officials.

I. FILL UPS

1. A seed is defined as a _____ or a reproductive unit formed from fertilized ovule, consisting of an embryo, reserve food and a protective cover.
2. A seed is defined as a mature ovule or a reproductive unit formed from _____ consisting of an embryo, reserve food and a protective cover.
3. A seed is defined as a mature ovule, or a reproductive unit formed from fertilized ovule, consisting of an _____, reserve food and a protective cover.
4. A seed is defined as a mature ovule or a reproductive unit formed from fertilized ovule, consisting of an embryo, _____ and a protective cover.
5. Seed acts as a carrier of _____.
6. Seed must ensure high _____ (true to type).
7. Seed must be viable and have good _____ capacity

1. SEED

A seed is defined as a ‘mature ovule’ or a reproductive unit formed from fertilized ovule, consisting of an embryo, reserve food and a protective cover.

Seed is the basic input in agriculture upon which other inputs are applied. A good vigorous seed utilities all the resources and realized as a reasonable output to the grower. It is wealth to the farmer, it is the yesterday’s harvest and tomorrow’s hope. Good seed in good soil realize good yield.

Seeds exhibit a great range of variation in shape, size, colour and behaviour. The most essential factor for the success of plantation is the ready availability of quality seeds. The quality of seed is totally responsible for the future return / performance of each and every seedling.

Seed
The seed, in botany is a mature ovule, consisting of an embryo together with a store of food all surrounded by a protective coat and bear ability to develop a new plant on optimum conditions of soil, moisture and light. It usually develops after the fertilization on an egg cell by male generative cell from a pollen grain. Seeds of some species develop without the intervention of the male cell, formed entirely of ‘mother’ tissue. Such seeds are called apogamic seeds. In seed technology, the seed is seed or any vegetatively propagated material produced from seed crop in accordance to Indian seed standards and has potential to develop new crop in presence of soil, moisture and light.

Archaeobotany

Botany as far as it is relevant in archaeology mainly denotes all types of ancient organic material (in particular ancient plant remains) collected from excavation sites. The deliberate study of the interrelationship between humans and plants and the environmental context in which this occurred has been called archaeobotany.

Introduction

Since beginning of this century genetic diversity of agricultural crop has been lost due to several reasons (Marla, 2012). Genetic erosion is caused by human intervention, mono culture, green revolution especially due to commercialization of plant breeding. So there is urgent need to collect, conserve plant genetic & genomic resource for further use.

A seed bank stores seeds to preserve genetic diversity. There are many reasons to store seeds. One reason is to have on-hand the genes that plant breeders need to increase yield, disease resistance, drought tolerance, nutritional quality, etc. of plants used in agriculture (i.e., crops or domesticated species). Another reason is to forestall loss of genetic diversity in rare or imperiled plant species in an effort to conserve biodiversity ex situ and in situ. Many plants that were used centuries ago by humans are used less frequently now and seed banks offer a way to preserve that historical and cultural value. Collections of seeds stored at constant low temperature and moisture guard against loss of genetic resources that are otherwise maintained in situ or in field collections. These alternative ‘living’ collections can be damaged by natural disasters, outbreaks of disease or war. Seed banks are considered seed libraries and contain valuable information about evolved strategies to combat plant stress or produce novel products. The work of seed banks spans decades and even centuries. Most seed banks are publicly funded and seeds are usually available for research that benefits the public.

Seed bearing plants

Seed-bearing plants are broadly categorized in two major types: the gymnosperms and the angiosperms which are together grouped in Division Spermatophyta in the older system of classification for the plant kingdom. Consequently, seed plants are presently classified into multiple phyla. Still, for the purpose of learning basic concepts, it is convenient to group plants informally as spermatophytes (sperm "seed" + phyte "plant"). The spermatophytes are the most complex and evolutionarily advanced plants. Unlike ferns and bryophytes which reproduce and disperse by unicellular spores, spermatophytes reproduce and disperse by means of multi-cellular seeds which consist a protective seed coat surrounding an embryonic sporophyte and its food supply. This group of seed plants exhibits an alternation of generations in which the sporophyte is dominant. Furthermore, the gametophyte is microscopic and heterosporous with the latter term meaning that these seed plants produce two types of spores: microspores and megaspores that give rise to separate male gametophytes (micro-gametophytes) and female gametophytes (mega-gametophytes) respectively. The megaspore is never released from the sporangium; thus, the female gametophyte develops within the sporangium while being still attached to the sporophyte.

Methods in Seed Blending

For good seed blending there are three methods and details of which given as below:

1. NEMATODES

Nematodes, also called eel-worms, are wormlike in appearance, but quite distinct taxonomically from true worms. They live freely in fresh or salt water or in soil. They are saprozoic and also parasitize animals (including man) and plants. Many species of nemotdes parasitize higher plants and cause disease symptoms. Plant parasitic nematodes are small (invisible to the naked eye), long, tubular, round in the cross section, unsegmented and smooth invertebrates. They inhibit different parts of plants, namely, roots, stem, flower buds and seeds. Depending on the host-parasite relationship, plant parasitic nematodes may be sedentary or migratory and ectoparasitic and/or endoparasitic in their feeding habits.

1.1. Nematodes

Seed-borne nematodes may be internal or may occur as seed infestation. Several saprozoic soil nematodes occur in beds of soil mixed with seed. Seed infestation by nematodes does not produce any specific symptoms on seed, but in those that occur as endoparasites, the floral structure may be modified into a seed gall (Anguina spp.) may produce symptoms such as discoloration of testa in groundnut (Ditylenchus destructor) or may be symptomless as in paddy kernels infected by Aphelenchoides besseyi. Neergaard (1979) listed five genera - Anguina, Aphelenchoides, Ditylenchus, Heterodora and Rhadinaphelenchus - that are seed-transmitted. Heterodora and Rhadinaphelenchus occur as endoparasites in roots, stems, and leaves. The latter also affects the growing apex, inflorescence and husks of dropped nuts.

I. FILL UPS

1. _____ are also called ed-worms.
2. _____ nematode causes discolouration in groundnut.
3. _____ in rice is caused by Aphelenchoides besseyi.
4. The ear cockle disease is caused _____.

1. MINIMUM SEED CERTIFICATION STANDARDS

In a seed quality control programme through seed certification, the minimum seed certification standards, in fact, are the minimum standard conditions which must be met. The minimum seed certification standards, thus are the standards required for the certification of seeds by the certification agencies.

The minimum seed certification standards can be broadly grouped into two groups.

Previous Year Questions

1. Different Classes of Seeds?

2. Various parameters of field & seed standards for breeder seed production?

3. Factors that affect the longevity of seeds during storage in warehouses?

4. Initial Seed Quality?

5. Seed Testing?

Different Classes of Seeds

1. Nucleus Seed: It is handful of seed maintained by concerned breeder for further multiplication. The nucleus seed will have all the characters that the breeder has placed in it and it is of highest genetic purity. The quantity of nucleus seed is in kilograms.

2. Breeder Seed (BS): Breeder seed is a seed or vegetative propagating material directly controlled by the originating or sponsoring plant breeder of the breeding programme or institution and or seed whose production is personally supervised by a qualified plant breeder and which provides the source for the initial and recurring increase of foundation seed. Breeder seed is exempted from certification. However, the breeder seed crop is being inspected at appropriate stages by a Monitoring Team consisting of breeder, representative of NSC and representative of Seed Certification Agency. The breeder seed lots are affixed with Golden Yellow tags. The genetic purity of breeder seed crop should be maintained at 100 per cent.

1. SEED CERTIFICATION

Seed Certification is a legally sanctioned system for quality control on seed multiplication and production. It involves field inspection, pre and post control tests and seed quality tests.

1.1. Phases of Seed Certification

Certification shall be completed in six broad phases listed under

I. FILL UPS

1. _____ is a legally sanctioned system for quality control on seed multiplication and production.
2. Certification consists of _____ phases.
3. In single application, the maximum area that can be offered for certification is _____.
4. AOSCA stands for_____.

Introduction

Seed certification is a legally approved system for quality control of seed multiplication and production. Seed certification procedures are designed to ensure physical and genetic purity, freedom from other crop seeds, objectionable and other weed seeds and designated diseases with good germinability of the foundation and certified seed. Seed certification is done by the State Seed Certification Agency of the concerned state (SSCA) notified under section 8 of the Seeds Act, 1966 or by National Seed Corporation (NSC), where State Seed Certification Agency does not exist. The General Seed Certification Standards are applicable to all crops, which are eligible for certification, while field and seed standards are applicable to individual crop, constituted as the minimum seed certification standards. The word ‘seed’ or ‘seeds’ as used in these standards also includes all the propagating materials. Seeds or propagating material, which does not meet the standards of seed certification prescribed in the Indian Minimum Seeds Certification Standards, 2013 (Gunasekaran and Trivedi, 2013), are not certified by the Seed Certification Agency. The general seed and field standards for various crops are given at the end of this chapter.

Seed multiplication and production was controlled by a legally sanctioned system called Seed Certification. Seed certification procedures and designed to ensure physical and genetic purity, freedom from weed seeds and diseases and good germinability of the certified seed. Seed certification is done by the Seed Certification Agency (SSCA) of the concerned state or by NSC.
 
Objectives of Seed Certification

The objective of seed certification programme was formulated by Douglas, 1971
 
i)    to ensure genuineness and quality of seed.
ii)    The identification and their rapid increase of new varieties under accepted names.
iii)    The systematic increase of superior varieties
iv)    Continuing supply of quality material and their maintenance.

Seed certification

It is a legally sanctioned system for quality control and seed multiplication and production. It involves field inspection, pre and post control tests and seed quality tests. As per Indian Seed Act seed certification is voluntary and it is not compulsory. The seed that is sold in the market is of two types certified seed or truthfully labelled seed. Whereas truthfully labelled seed is one which is being produced and marketed by the producing company by maintaining the labelling standards.

The collection of cones/fruits and seeds is the first step in the harvest, processing, and storage of seed in which man interacts with nature in determining ultimate seed quality. Successful collection, therefore, depends on understanding seed maturation and dispersal characteristics of each species, knowing local weather trends, and evaluating crop quality. Collection of propagating material is an expensive process and it is therefore also important that areas wherein cones and seeds are to be collected are evaluated to determine whether a sufficiently heavy crop to permit economic collection of seeds is present and whether the seed zone and elevation represented by the candidate area is appropriate for the production of seedlings needed in the reforestation program. Remember that properly collected, processed, and stored seeds may remain viable for a decade, so evaluation of seed needs may be projected well in advance of current harvest schedules through proper planning and organization of seed collection.

• The seed production of varieties and hybrids should be carried out carefully by following various techniques in the region where they are well adopted.
• The various factors affecting quality seed production includes,
  1. Agro climatic factors / Ecological factors - edaphic and climatic factors
  2. Production factors
  3. Post harvesting handling of seed
  4. Seed quality control factors