Quality Guidelines for Vegetable Seed Production

The vegetable seed production is one of the income generating activity in tropical South and S-E Asia. The region is become hub for seed production of tropical vegetables.In India, the southern part is most favorable for vegetable seed production with ideal weather conditions, soil and skilled labor force. The cost of seed production per kilogram here is very low compared to Europe and Americas. Some of the best known and largest seed corporations of the world are operating in this region with annual payment of more than 100 Million USD. This activity created jobs and had positive socio-economic impact. Since the payment contract between grower and the seed buyer include passing of seed quality tests, the growing specifications must be followed with utmost care. This pictorial handbook gives detailed guidelines to be followed in vegetable seed production to seed growers and supervisors. The guidelines written in a simple bullet form offer practical usage of the book in field conditions.

Rakesh C. Mathad, a Seed Technologist by profession having more than 10 years of experience in vegetable seed industry, agriculture finance and developmental sector. He is presently working as Assistant Professor-Seed Science and Technology at University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur, India.