Instead of buying them afresh, farmers can produce own wheat seeds: Experts

Manav Mander

Ludhiana, February 29

Instead of buying seeds everytime and making wheat cultivation a costly affair, farmers can produce high quality seeds at their farms and cut the cost of wheat cultivation. All they have to do is procure the certified seed of recommended varieties from the PAU/State Department of Agriculture/PUNSEED/National Seed Corporation in one crop season.

SELECTION OF VARIETY CRUCIAL

Farmers can easily produce seeds for the next crop by following simple guidelines right from the sowing of the seed to harvesting. The selection of variety, seed rate, and seed treatment are the initial important steps in this regard. — Dr Ritu Bala, Plant Pathologist, PAU

“Farmers can easily produce seeds for the next crop by following simple guidelines right from the sowing of the seed to the harvesting of the crop. The selection of variety, seed rate, and seed treatment are the initial important steps in this regard,” said Dr Ritu Bala, plant pathologist from Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Punjab Agricultural University.

“The inspection of the crop should be done regularly and carefully to remove the off-types, diseased plants and weeds. We must monitor the crop at least thrice in a crop season i.e. the monitoring of the wheat crop should be done before ear emergence, at ear emergence, and the ripening stage.

“The infected plants must be uprooted and destroyed by burning,” said Dr G S Mavi, principal wheat breeder.

The harvested seed should be dried in the sun to bring down its moisture level to less than 10 per cent. Higher moisture in the seed increases the chances of infestation. It also reduces the germination of the seed and sometimes leads to rotting of the seed.

Before storage, farmers should ensure complete elimination of loose smut disease from the seed by solar heat treatment, added Dr Mavi.