Why Seed Quality Is the Most Overlooked Yet Critical Factor in Farming?
Do you know that great farming begins with high-quality seed? While most agricultural discussions focus on nutrient availability, soil health, and irrigation, seed quality is a critical factor that farmers often overlook.
Research shows that high-quality seed can increase crop productivity by 15% to 20% by ensuring faster germination and stronger plants. In this blog, we will understand the importance of seed quality, its major impact in agriculture, and how it benefits you as a farmer.
What Is Seed Quality? Why Farmers Overlook It?
Seed quality refers to their health and performance in terms of yield.
A high-quality seed meets all these criteria:
- Genetic Purity: The growth of these plants will be the same as the parent type and will maintain original characteristics, providing consistency in crop performance.
- Physical Appearance: Better-quality seeds are shiny and debris-free, offering a cleaner look than normal seeds.
- Physiological Quality: It ensures higher crop production, best germination rates, and faster growth.
As most farmers are unaware of these favourable characteristics, seed quality is disregarded when considering better crop establishment.
Another reason farmers avoid purchasing superior-quality seeds is that they are expensive and inaccessible in some rural areas.
However, online agricultural stores are the best sources for high-quality seeds and inputs.
Understanding the importance of seed quality will allow farmers to make informed decisions and achieve higher returns.
Importance Of Quality Seeds
Seed quality in agriculture determines whether the harvest will succeed or fail. Low-quality seeds lead to weak growth, diseased crops, and poor yields.
On the other hand, excellent seed quality can increase crop production by 20% to 25% when combined with other practices.
Other than higher yield, they also bring advantages, including:
- Resistance to common pests and diseases reduces the need for harmful chemical solutions.
- Better seed quality leads to uniform growth, making it easier for you to harvest valuable, market-ready crops.
- High-vigour seeds can efficiently absorb nutrients, water, and agricultural inputs.
- These seeds are viable and have high germination rates, preventing the risk of crop loss.
How Seed Quality Directly Impacts Crop Performance
Many farmers prefer inexpensive, low-quality seeds to cut costs, resulting in capital erosion due to multiple factors. Poor seeds are contaminated with harmful bacteria, viruses, and damaging fungi, which makes them vulnerable to weeds and pests.
This eventually causes stunted growth and delayed germination, producing non-uniform crop stands. Ultimately, it gives outcomes such as reduced yields and declining profits, affecting farmers’ income.
On the other hand, top-notch seeds are tested and certified, which not only cultivates evenly grown crops, but also plentiful harvests at your farm.
Factors Affecting Seed Quality
Main factors, including nutrient conditions and bacterial contamination, can degrade seed quality.
Even storage conditions, such as moisture and cleanliness, can accelerate the deterioration.
Other factors, such as biotic and abiotic conditions, also affect seed quality during development or storage.
Biotic Factors:
Biotic factors include living organisms that change the quality of the seeds in a negative way. These factors worsen the development of the seedlings and impact crop health:
Pests and Insects:
Various insects, such as weevils, moths, beetles, and mites, lay eggs on the seeds and feed on them, damaging the interior and coatings. They attack the seeds during their storage and early development stages.
Microorganisms:
Harmful microorganisms like pathogens, fungi, bacteria, and viruses ruin seeds by producing mycotoxins and mold. This reduces the seeds’ germination capacity and causes rotting and discoloration during the pod stage.
Abiotic Factors:
Abiotic factors consist of environmental conditions that reshape the development and overall performance of the seeds. It influences the dormancy period and seed growth.
Temperature:
High temperature damages the seed membrane during storage and reduces seed vigor and filling. Low temperatures inhibit the sprouting of species that require mild conditions.
Moisture:
When seeds are kept in storage, humidity makes them prone to fungal infection and diseases. It also reduces the shelf life of the seeds, declining overall seed quality.
Other Factors:
Factors like light, soil pH level, oxygen availability, and storage conditions also play a key role in degrading seed quality.
Seed Testing Methods Farmers Should Know
Seed testing is essential to assess their quality and determine their ability to produce fine crops. These tests reduce the risk of yield loss and prevent re-planting. Seed quality can be checked by farmers and also with laboratory tests.
Physical Appearance: Healthy and high-quality seeds looks bigger in size, have uniform color, and do not have cracks. The seeds that are shriveled and discolored are considered of poor quality.
Germination Test: In this process, a number of seeds are selected from the lot and kept in a damp cloth for 7 to 10 days. This shows the germination rate of the seeds; the minimum acceptable rate is 85% or higher.
Water Test: This is the easiest way to know whether seeds quality is excellent or poor. When seeds sink down in the water, they are identified as the best quality, whereas bad quality seeds float in the water.
Viability Test: In this method, the seeds are cut and soaked in the chemical solution, Tetrazolium (TZ). When the embryo tissue of the seeds turns red, it means they are active and ready to use. It provides results in 2 to 4 hours, faster than the germination test.
Laboratory Test: Chosen seeds are sent to the laboratory for testing moisture content, purity, germination, health, and genetic purity.
Economic Benefits Of Investing In Seed Quality
Investing in high-quality seeds provides these economic benefits:
- As they are pest- and disease-tolerant, the cost of agro-inputs reduces.
- Seeds that are resistant to stress conditions like rain, humidity, and drought prevent crop loss.
- Better seed quality leads to uniform growth, making harvesting easier and more labour-efficient.
- Customers tend to purchase crops grown with certified seeds, thereby increasing marketability.
Seed quality is the foundation of a fruitful harvest and a prosperous outcome. The best seeds are characterised by their health and physical structure; the quality can also be tested at home via several tests.
Most farmers often ignore standard seeds due to price pressure and habits. Despite financial barriers, economic benefits like higher yield and an increase in market reach encourage farmers to make wise investments in premium quality seeds.
FAQs:
1) How can farmers check the quality of seeds at home?
The quality of the seeds can be inspected at home using various seed testing methods, such as water tests, germination tests, and viability tests. These tests are simple, effective, and quick, allowing farmers to check the potential and performance of the seed before sowing it in the field.
2) What are the characteristics of high-quality seed?
High-quality seeds are characterised by genetic purity, physical purity, and physiological characteristics. This includes germination rates, seed vigor, seed cleanliness, and seed viability.
3) How does seed quality affect crop yield?
Seed quality can have a huge impact on the crop performance and yield. A low-quality seed leads to poor crop growth and weakened fruits, which increases the need for agro inputs. Whereas the high-quality seeds enhance germination, crop production, and increase yield, improve profitability.
