Agronomy - Seed Quality and Quantity : Benson Institute

Agronomy - Seed Quality and Quantity

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This lesson teaches the reader how to select the best seeds for his crop production unit, identify seed sources in the village or communities nearby, identify healthy plants from crops to collect seeds for their use, and identify seed handling and storage principles.

Objectives: After this lesson, participants will be able to:

Select the best seeds for his crop production unit.
Identify seed sources in the village or nearby communities.
Identify healthy plants from crops to collect seeds for their use.
Identify seed handling and storage principles.

Lesson Preparation:

Arrangements: Participants visit a corn field and select corn plants that may be used for seed. If this is not possible, prepare a poster with characteristics of corn plants that can be used for seed collection.
Collect treated, improved, and local seed varieties in glass containers for participants to view. Also collect samples of damaged seed, old seed, small seeds, big seeds, and mixed seeds and put them in containers.
Teaching aids: Handout with steps for seed selection. (Selección Masal)
Find about storage systems best suited for the crops in the area.

Concepts to be Taught

Factors to consider when selecting seed for the crop production unit.
Improved seed vs. own seed.
Own seed selection. Individual seed production as best solution. Importance of individual farmer becoming his own seed source or if an association having at least one member grow the seed for sale to other members.
Seed storage and handling.

Introduction:

The selection of the best planting material is basic to good crop production practices. A farmer should constantly be searching for seed varieties which perform best on his farm (#1). This aspect of crop production is becoming more important since it has been proven that an adequate selection of seeds increases crop yields. Proper seed selection is necessary for top crop production. As new varieties become available to farmers, however, it is important to understand that changing to a new variety alone may not increase yields unless you are already following good production practices. Old seed varieties are being used less and less. Farmers constantly need to be aware to select seed varieties by comparing them to the ones they are currently growing (#2).

Although there are no hard and fast rules for selecting the right seed variety, there are some things a farmer can watch out for. Perhaps the best advice is to find all the available information on the seed before you want to use and try it. Once the information has been obtained, compare data from government or private yield trials to your own and with other farmers' yields. Farmer plots can be very helpful in making selections if they are well managed.

Group Discussion: How is seed material obtained in the area? Where do you obtain the seed you plant? What factors do you consider when selecting seeds to plant in the production unit?

Concept # 1:

Factors to consider when selecting seed for the crop production unit (#3).

Using high quality seed can be a farmers biggest bargain. Without a good stand and a vigorous crop, they will lose far more than what they can save by cutting corners on seed. Quality seed must be high in germination, relatively free from insect or mechanical damage, pure for the crop variety, and contain little or no inert matter or weed seeds. For maximum profit quality seed must be used in conjunction with good cultural practices, correct fertilizer rates, and adequate control of plant pests.

Trying to find the best seed for each crop in every location is almost impossible to accomplish. However, we can consider maturity, yield, disease and insect resistance, seasonal response, planting date, taste and product quality in the decision process. So far as seed is concerned, here are several suggestions that will help you in selecting seeds for better crop production:

Maturity is a prime consideration in any seed variety choice. You want to make good use of the available growing season. Maybe you can have another crop as soon you get this one out. Therefore, you want this one to mature as fast as possible(#4).

Yield potential is important in choosing a seed variety. The best choice is a seed variety that responds well to the specific soil conditions of the area. With high yielding crops, less land is used for family & animal consumption, and more for a cash crop (#5). Plant only seed adapted to the area or seed which has been tested on your farm or a close by neighbor.

Disease and insect resistance or tolerance is receiving a lot of attention (#6). The use of tolerant seeds minimizes the use of insecticides. Less insecticides needed for crop production means less money spent on inputs. A variety resistant to certain diseases or insects may not be the best to grow

in the absence of such problems. So the farmer needs to be aware of what problems to expect in the area during a particular season when making a seed choice.

Seasonal response is something that you can expect from all varieties (#7). Generally, seeds perform better in a favorable season than an adverse one, but some varieties respond differently than others. The farmer should select seeds on the basis of several seasons' performance.

Planting date affects variety choice in a number of ways. Some varieties are able to get off and growing faster when planted under early, adverse conditions, some are more vigorous than others.

Taste & quality are other dimensions which comprise seed selection, apart from yield and other factors. For many people, taste feel and quality are very important and most seed selection is going to be based on this.

Concept 2:

Traditional versus Improved seed varieties

Seed selection is important to consider at this point (#8). In most countries the farmer will have different types of seed to use. The farmer may find hybrid or improved seed varieties available for planting the crop production unit. One of the disadvantages of hybrid seed is that seed produced can not be saved for next cropping season. Therefore, the other option is to use improved seed varieties that are locally available in almost every country. Improved seed produced can be used for the following cropping season. Also the price is usually lower for improved seed than for hybrids. However, they are a little more expensive than producing your own seed. Good management practices are as important as the seed used in the production unit.

There are several factors to consider when selecting the seed type to plant in the crop production unit as follows:

Price is going to become a big factor in selecting improved or saving own seed (#9). The majority of the small farmers do not have the money to buy improved seed, therefore, the only option left is to save their own seed. However, if crop is for market, then maybe they will need to use improved seed, depending on the amount of fertilizer required for its production. The organization may help the farmer with improved seed varieties if the crop is going to be marketed. Otherwise, farmers can grow their own seed to provide family and animal food. Economics is a very important consideration.

Fertilizer requirements on improved seed will be higher than for native lines (#10). Chemical fertilizers are often very cost effective if capital or credit is available. However, chemical fertilizers require more skill to use than organics in terms of rate determinations, dosage calculation, timing, and placement.

Save their own seed shall be the one saved from cropping season to next by the farmer (#11-12). If you plant your own seed, test it for good germination and make sure it is free from excessive or noxious weed seed.

Group Discussion: Which seed are we going to use? Why? What factors are going to affect our decision? Discuss pros and cons of improved and own seed. Will the farmers have access to credit for inputs? With fertilizer costs high and not knowing if it is going to rain or not, will farmers risk their production? What happens if entire crop is lost? Will the organization help the small farmer survive until next season? Who takes the loss? Farmer or loan organization?

Activity 2: Handout and discuss procedure to select plants for seed production from the field (#13). (Mass Selection)

Concept 3:

Seed storage and handling.

Good seed is essential for successful crop production, whereas poor seed is a serious farm hazard (#14). It is important to store and handle seeds properly after harvesting to ensure good germination and purity specially, if we want to use them the following season and to store both unsold marketable and consumption seeds (#15).

To store, shell the seeds and eliminate broken or damaged seeds. Treat the seed with an insecticide to prevent insect damage. Store seed in airtight containers. Store containers with seed in a cool place, away from light and humidity. In most, hot climates seeds often can be kept viable between seasons only by storing them, well dried, in airtight containers. Most of the time right after harvesting, the grain of the crop may still be too high in moisture content to escape spoilage if stored as loose seed. Grain

stored in unthreshed form on the cob, on the seedhead or in the pod can be safely stored at a much higher moisture content since there is much more air space for ventilation and further drying (#16). Corn stored as unhusked ears and pulses stored in their pods are more resistant to storage insects.

Group Discussion: How do you store and handle seeds for next season? Do you use insecticides to protect the seed? If yes, which? What are the proper procedures to store and handle seed for a given crop? (#17) (i.e. corn, wheat, potatoes, beans, etc.)