Seed fortification with sprouted pulses extract for enhancing seed quality in rice

摘要

In India, rice is the important staple food for over two thirds of the population and it plays a vital role in our national food security [1]. Intensive cultivation is more fertilizer responsive, which often lead to aggravation of pest problem, as theplants become succulent enough to be fed upon by a variety of crop pests. This in turn necessitates use of increasingly huge amount of pesticides to combat the pest problems. The uninterrupted and disproportionate use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers over a longer period of time has resulted in deterioration of soil and environmental health that can endanger the existence of all forms of life on this planet. Therefore, apparent contradiction exists between the need for nutritional security on onehand and environmental sustainability on the other. This makes it inevitable to resort to the organic or eco-farming system as it appears to be a feasible option to meet both the objectives. Since rice is the staple food for over half of the world population, major emphasis has to be laid on ways to fortify seeds organically in order to improve germination, vigour and productivity.