SEED PRODUCTION

Availability of quality seeds of improved cultivars is considered crucial for

realizing productivity and adoption of cultivars in different agro-climatic conditions.
The quality of seed alone is known to account for at least 10-15% increase in the
productivity (ICAR 1993). However, lack of quality seed continues to be one of the
greatest impediments to bridging the vast yield gap. Therefore, to approach the
potentially realizable yield of a cultivar, production and distribution of quality seed
is essential. The good quality seed should have the following characters:
• Genetic purity, and uniformity and should conform to the standards of the
particular cultivar.
• Disease free, viable seeds.
• Free from admixtures of other crop seeds, weeds and inert matter.
• Acceptable uniformity with respect to size, shape and color.

Seed Production
Systemized crop production is known as seed production. In seed production
adequate care is given from the purchase of seeds upto harvest adopting proper
seed and crop management techniques.
The benefits of seed production are
 Higher income
 Higher quality seed for next sowing

Difference between seed and crop production

Seed production Crop production

Basic seed should be from an authentic Any seed material can be used
source

Seed plot should be selected carefully Can be grown in any area

for better performance, as per edaphic
and environmental requirement

Needs isolation from other varieties Isolation is not necessary

Needs technical skill for maintenance of Special technical skill is not required
quality

Maintenance of genetic purity is Genetic purity is not required

important

Roguing is compulsorily practiced Roguing is not practiced

Harvesting should be done at Harvested at field maturity

physiological/ harvestable maturity

Resultant seed should be vigorous and Question of viability does not arise
viable

Importance is given to seed quality Importance is given more to yield

rather than the yield

There are two types (major) of seed production ie. varietal and hybrid
Seed production based on the type of seed used for multiplication .The difference
between varietal and hybrid seed production are as follows

Varietal seed production Hybrid seed production

It is single parent multiplication It needs two to many parents

Isolation distance requirement is less Isolation distance requirement is

more

Production is by open pollination Production is by managed control

pollination (Female)

Seed can be used continuously for Seed has to be changed every time
3/4/5 generations

Production technique is uniform Technique differ with crop

(multiplication)

Production care is less Production care is more

Yield will be lower Yield will be higher

Profit is less Profit is higher

 SCOPE AND IMPORTANCE OF SEED PRODUCTION

Indian Agriculture has made enormous progress in the last 50 years. Food
grains production has risen from 50 million tons in 1947 to 212 million tons in
2003-04. The country has advanced from a situation of food scarcity and imports to
that of food security and exportable surpluses. The Green Revolution of India has
been universally acclaimed as a successful enterprise of the farmers, the Scientists
and the Government. The land mark achievements in agriculture in the 60s and 70s
were the result of a combination of inputs like introduction of high yielding
varieties, increased fertilizer use, expansion of irrigation facilities, massive
extension efforts, improved farm practices and, above all, ingenuity and industry of
the Indian farmers. However, the growth of agriculture sector has not kept pace
with the growth of the population and has stagnated. The unsatisfactory growth of
agriculture, apart from serious implications for food security of the country, has
been adversely impacting the growth rate of country’s economy. The imperative of
National food security, nutritional security and economic development demand a
very focused and determined approach to raise productivity and production in
agriculture. In view of the fact, that the area under cultivation is unlikely to
increase significantly, thrust will have to be on raising productivity per unit of
cultivated land.

Substantial increase in yield and quality of crops depends upon a number of

factors viz., inputs like fertilizers, irrigation and plant protection measures and
suitable agronomic practices. However, the use of high quality seed thus plays a
pivotal role in the crop production. The use of poor quality seeds nullifies the utility
of all agronomic practices and every other input applied to the crop no matter how
lavishly they are applied. Economically, the cost of seed is a very small component
of the total cost of production. Sindhur Sen (1974) summarizes the importance of
seed quality thus “What are known as the seeds of hope may turn into seeds of
frustration” if they are not of high quality. It is therefore, important to use the seed
confirming to the prescribed standards in terms of high genetic purity, physical
purity, physiological quality and health quality. Since ages, Indian farmers were
mostly dependent on traditional varieties, therefore seed requirements were met
through farm saved seeds. The use of traditional varieties coupled with farm saved
seeds whose quality is not guaranteed, resulted in drastic reduction in production.

Seed is the critical determinant of agricultural production on which depends

the performance and efficacy of other inputs. Quality seeds appropriate to different
agro-climatic conditions and in sufficient quantity at affordable prices are required
to raise productivity. Availability and use of quality seeds is not a onetime affair.
Sustained increase in agriculture production and productivity necessarily requires
continuous development of new and improved varieties of crops and efficient
system of production and supply of seeds to farmers.
The National Seeds Policy 2002 clearly emphasizes that “It has become
evident that in order to achieve the food production targets of the future, a major
effort will be required to enhance the seed replacement rates of various crops. This
would require a major increase in the production of quality seeds……..” According to
the National seeds Policy 2002, the thrust areas have to be -
i) Varietal Development.
ii) Seed Production.
iii) Seed Replacement Rate Enhancement.
iv) Primary responsibility for production of breeder seed to be that of the
ICAR/State Agriculture Universities.
v) An effective seed production programme.
vi) Popularization of new varieties.
vii) Availability of newly developed varieties to farmers with minimum time gap.
viii) Provision of incentives to domestic seed industry to enable it to produce seeds
of high yielding varieties and hybrid seeds at a faster pace to meet the challenges
of domestic requirements.

After the genesis of NSP, NSE & SSC and private seed companies, production
of certified and foundation seeds have been undertaken by them.
Crop/Season-wise Requirement and Availability of Certified/Quality Seeds
in India (2008-2009)(Indiastat.com)

Crop
Requirement Availability
Cereals Total
13343953 16964189
Pulses Total
1749254 1829974
Oil Seed Total
4814665 5349716
Fibre Total
302279 361151
Patato
430000 430000

The Indian seed industry is the eighth largest in the world with an estimated
value of INR 49 billion (USD 1.06 Billion) and with an annual growth rate of 12% to
13 %. The industry has shown a buoyant growth over the last two years on well
supportive monsoons. The development of private seed industry is no more
confined to just production and marketing of seed. It has well acquired
technological strength to cater to the varietal needs of tomorrow. Along with
industries Indian farmers have in recent years adopted intensive cultivation
practices in order to meet the growing demand for agricultural produce.

India is bestowed with varied agro climatic conditions / zones, experienced

and dedicated farmers, viable seed industry, legislations etc favouring the
production of quality seeds. However, there is an urgent need for streamlining all
our strengths to overpower the weaknesses.

Strengths
• A well developed and knitted seed multiplication and distribution
systems linked with several ICAR institutes / SAUs / NSC / SFCI etc.
• A network of 20 seed certification agencies and more than 96 notified
seed testing laboratories to legally assure the quality seeds moving in
the seed market.
 • A large number of varieties in different vegetable crops are available
suited to varied agro climatic conditions. This makes the selection
easier for taking up production in a particular area.
• Our county is bestowed with varied agro climatic conditions, which can
be exploited for taking up seed production of vegetables at any time of
the year in one or other past of the country.
• A very fast development of private seed companies which are helpful
in bridging. The gap between demand and supply of vegetable seeds in
the country.
Weaknesses
• Vegetable seed production in the country has been vulnerable to
vagaries of weather resulting in production of poor quality seeds.
• Availability of realistic data on actual area under vegetable and
requirements of vegetable seeds is inappropriate.
• Maintenance of isolation distance. Since in our system there is no
restriction for planting any particular vegetable crops in any particular
area, it becomes difficult many times to maintain the recommended
isolation distance.
• Very low or no indents for new improved varieties due to ignorance
about the performance of newly developed improved varieties.
• Non-availability of adequate nucleus and breeder seeds in the seed
production chain.
• Problems in lifting produced seeds against indents.

Factors which affect demand

It is important to distinguish between actual demand, perceived demand and
what the government expects the farmers to buy. The total amount of certified or
labelled seed sold may be quite a small proportion of the total requirement.

Many factors have to be considered while assessing and forecasting demand.

Some of these are:
• Cropping pattern and intensity
• Type of seed used
 • Climate
• Demand for crop products
• Market scenario
• Disposable farm income
• Rate or level of adoption of new technology
• Government policy
• Crop cycles
• Habits and tradition
• Product performance
• Competitiveness
• Price
• Promotion
The most important factors that need to be taken into account when an
individual company or organization is estimating the market share that may be
gained by its own products are product performance, competitive positioning, price
and promotion. This will form the basis of sales forecasting and production
planning.

Demand Forecasting of seed

In adequate estimation of demand and the consequences of over production
or under production can cause serious financial consequences for a seed company.
Too many carryovers and stock write-offs will prove to be expensive, while lack of
seed means a loss of revenue and a source of frustration for the sales force and the
dealer network. This combination of special features in the seed industry makes the
accurate assessment of demand even more critical. Some of these features are
• Longer period of time for the development new products from breeding
programmes
• Seasonality of production
• Production subject to variables like agro climatic conditions outside the
control of management
• Statutory controls and quality standards
• Existence of a generation system – where by the production in one
year is the progenitor the next
 • Limited shelf like and loss of germination
• Seed replacement rate: Seed Replacement Rate is the rate at which
the farmers replace the seeds instead of using their own seeds

Seed Replacement Rate of Select Crops : 2005-06

Crop SRR (%)

Paddy 17
Millets 7

Pulses 12.5
Cottton
10/15
Rainfed /Irrigated
Groundnut 5

Gingelly 15
Sunflower 50
Castor 30
Soyabean 20

Source: Narrative notes on Plan Programme-2005-06, S.P.C, ,Chennai.

In demand forecasting the first step is to calculate the existing requirement

multiplied by percent bought seed, which is the amount of commercial seed
purchased by farmers. In calculating seed requirement, seed multiplication rates
must be taken into account. Seed Multiplication Ratio is the ratio at which the seed
multiplies.

In the present Indian scenario, seed production can be taken up as a small-

scale industry or it can be taken up as under contract for the other seed companies.
In either way, seed production has huge potential to ensure better returns.
 SCOPE FOR SEEDS EXPORT

There is lot of scope for marketing of seed by Indian seed companies in

countries lying between 300 North and South latitudes, which are having similar
agro-climatic situations and the varieties bred in India are suitable as well as
comparable to varieties produced in European Union (EU), USA and Japan etc. In
addition, wage rates and consumption pattern of those areas are comparable to
Indian conditions. The seed can be exported from India to Indonesia, Bangladesh,
China, Sri Lanka, African countries. Central and South America and markets in
developed countries. The Indian cotton hybrids are suitable for African countries,
where the wage rates are low for hand picking in indeterminate types. The hybrid
seeds of paddy, cotton, maize, sorghum, pearl millet, sunflower, varietal seeds of
paddy, vegetables (tomato, brinjal, gourds and bhendi) can be produced more
economically in AP for export purposes.

Export opportunities
The export opportunities can be classified into two major categories.
i. Custom production of vegetable seeds (including hybrid vegetables)
ii. Export of branded seeds

i. Custom production of vegetable seeds (including hybrid vegetables)

Hybrid vegetable seed production is highly labour intensive. As the
competition is going up, most of the major global companies are outsourcing the
seed production to the countries having labour cost advantage viz., China, Thailand,
Vietnam, Chile, India etc. several Indian companies have established good
reputation over the past 10 years by supplying good quality seed under contract
production. We also have experienced and skilled manpower to take up this activity
on large scale. If we look at the production capacity 70% of India’s seeds’ sales
come from farmer bred seeds, 26% from those bred in publicly financed
institutions, and only 4% from researched hybrids. The domestic hybrid seeds
market is placed at INR 4.9 Billion and is annually growing at 10% a year, against
the 5% global growth rate.

ii. Export of branded seeds

Over the last 15-20 years, Indian seed industry has emerged as a vibrant
research based industry (in vegetable as well as field crops). Several innovative
superior products have been developed for widely varying agro-climatic conditions
in the Indian agriculture. It is reported that Indian germplasm / seeds can adopt
very well in the countries failing in the region 300 North and South on the equator.
This would cover markets of several developing countries from Central / South
America, Africa and Asia. Incidentally, both Africa and Asia are presently the fastest
growing markets. Indian seed sector with its vast germplasm base and trained man
power would become a strong technology source for such countries.

Agri –export zones

India has her own inherent strength in agriculture and agriculture exports.
Now these have been strengthened with the liberalization, privatization polices of
the government and the positive clauses in the World Trade Agreement with which
India can poise to double its agro exports to Rs.200 billion by 2007.

With a view to promoting agricultural exports from the country and

remunerative returns to the farming community in a sustained manner, the concept
of Agri Export Zones (AEZ) was floated. These zones have been set up for end-to-
end development for export of specific products from a geographically contiguous
area.