Production of quality wheat seed by farmers for their own use

摘要

Farmers often face difficulty in procurement of sufficient quantity of good quality seed. Hence the farmers purchase small quantities of foundation/certified seed from various and multiply it on their own farms. The development, release and adoptionof new improved high yielding varieties is the most important basic prerequisite for improving the yield and production of any crop. New wheat varieties are released for cultivation by agricultural universities and research institutes from time to time.However, benefits from an improved variety can be realized only if good quality seed is available to the farmers. Due to various constraints in quality seed production programmes of agricultural universities and seed producing agencies, it is difficultto meet the farmers' seed demand of new variety in full. The seed replacement rate in Punjab is dismally low at less than 8 per cent for wheat crop. This is in spite of the fact that there are large number of seed growers who grow the seed crop by adopting proper guidelines and get it inspected by seed certification agencies. Farmers often face difficulty in procurement of sufficient quantity of good quality seed of improved varieties particularly during initial years of its release. Hence the farmers are left with no other choice but to purchase small quantities of foundation/certified seed from various seed producing agencies and multiply it on their own farms to meet their requirement for the next year. This also avoids the expenditure to be borne by the farmer for purchase of entire seed needed for sowing.