Seeds and Sowing
Seed is any material used for planning & propagation whether it is in the form of seed (grain) of food, fodder, fiber or vegetable crop or seedlings, tubers, bulbs, rhizomes, roots, cuttings, grafts or other vegetatively propagated material.
Seed is a fertilized ovule consisting of intact embryo, stored food (endosperm) and seed coat which is viable & has got the capacity to germinate.
As we say, “Reap as you sow”, the good quality seed must have following characters:
1. Seed should be genetically pure & should exhibit true morphological & genetical characters of the particular strain (True to type).
2. It should be free from admixture of seeds of other strains of the same crop or other crop, weeds, dirt and inert material.
3. It should have a very high & assured germination percentage and give vigorous seedlings.
4. It should be healthy, well developed & uniform in size.
5. It should be free from any disease bearing organisms i.e. pathogens.
6. It should be dry & not mouldy and should contain 12-14% moisture.
Seed is the basic input in the crop production which should be of good quality.