krishi jagran agriculture world november 2015

SMALL SEEDBIG BUSINESS

W RLDW RLDAGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE

SYNTHETIC SEED TECHNOLOGY

A MIRACLE OILSEED CROP OF INDIA

SEED - THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS THE GROWTH

SEED�SEED�INDUSTRY

Volume I Issue 11 November-2015 `70 | | |

Echoing Sustainable Environment and Agriculturewww.krishijagran.comfacebook.com/krishi.jagran @krishijagran

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CNH Industrial Genuine PartsBetter Performance - Enhanced Life

(Available in CPC for CAPF Ex-servicemen and Ex-servicemen)

Toll Free No. 18004190124

Your Progress, Our Technology

Latest Modern Tractor Category of New Holland from 35 HP to 90 HP Liking of every Progressive Farmer

Immediate ServiceParts Support#1

Sr. Executive Editor Dr. KT Chandy RK Teotia Chander Mohan G.S. Saini

Editorial Head Sanjay KumarSenior Correspondent Ruby Jain

Correspondent Aniket Sinha Kanika Chauhan Imran Khan

Marketing Head PS SainiGM - Marketing Farha Khan

Sr. Manager Marketing KJ Saranya Sara Khan

Marketing Manager Megha Sharma Sr. Executive Marketing Afsana Malik Chunki Bhutia Poonam Bishwakarma Geeta Rawat Rinki Pundir Laxmi Pandey Soniya Mahajan Shifali Mahajan Preeti Chauhan Kanchan Singh Punam Pradhan Rachael Xavier Agnes Marry Hema Sharma Ritika Raju Jannet Johnson Rajni Kumari

Circulation Head Nishant K TaakSr. Executive Circulation Chander Dev Bhatt Rahul Singh Abdus Samad Sujata Gautam Anku Yadav Sukumar Dalai Pappu Ray Mohit

Head Pre-Press Dharmendra KumarDesigner Yogesh KumarAccounts KB Indira

Office Assistant Prem Kumar Ranjan

Editor-in-Chief

MC Dominic

Directors Shiny Emanuel MG Vasan

DD NairVP International Business (Russia & CIS Countries)6 Mikluho-Maklaya STR, Moscow, Russia 117198Mob: +7903729 98 30, Tel: +7499501 99 10Email: [email protected]

M MezhukanalE-16F - 33, Hamriya Free Zone, Sharjah, UAEMob: +971 50 2870465 Email: [email protected]

Disclaimer:While every care has been taken to ensure accuracy of the information contained in this publications, the publishers are not responsible for any errors or omissions that might have crept into this publications.No part of this publication may be reproduced or kept in a retrieval system, without the express permission of the publishers.

M C DominicEditor‐in‐Chief

[email protected]

Synthetic seed may be a new a term for most people in the agricultural science, at least in India, though intense research on it has been going on for the last ��een years in many parts of the world. However the

practical implementation is yet to come as there are many hurdles to be overcome. �e work on synthetic seed was initiated in the last decade of the last century but we can be sure that in the near future we will have synthetic seeds in the hands of the farmers for most of the crops. �e article by Sukhdeep Singh and Team. from Haryana Agricultural University presents the prospects of producing synthetic seeds in a number of crops to begin with.

Alluding to the smallness of seed and the vastness of seed companies spread throughout the world Alex Wu, Editor of AgroPages in his article presents a birds eye view of the present scenario of the seed industry. Beginning with the global scenario of seed industry he enumerates the top ten seed industrialists in the world along with their major activities during the year 2013 to 15. Further he highlights the need for the diversi�cation of genetic resources, R&D bodies and Laws and regulations to be made complete.

Crop growth is mainly governed by the climatic conditions of a place where they are grown. India is blessed with 15 agro-climatic regions and its greatest advantage is that it can grow all the crops in the world. Further it is divided into �ve regions depending on the length of the growing seasons. A third criteria for the agricultural division of our country is the moisture availability. To the seed industries the knowledge of these agro-climatic divisions of our country will enhance business prospectus. Dr. K. T. Chandy highlights these aspects in his article �Agro-Climatic Division for better Seed and Crop Production� for the bene�t of the seed industries.

Niger is a minor oilseed crop easily grown under rain fed conditions and in poor soils conditions especially on hill slopes. It is used for human consumption in the form of oil, which is pale yellow with nutty taste and a pleasant odor. Beginning with such qualities R. G. Upadhyay & Co., of Department of Agro-meteorology, College of Forestry, VCSG UUHF, Bharsar, Ranichauri Campus, Uttarakhand in their article provides a detailed agronomic practices of the crops Niger.

�is is followed by the article on Suraj Cropsciences Limited: Emerging Agri. Business Organization which has developed a new variety of bottle gourd called Devraj (SCLH-1053), two wheat varieties called Ganga Gold (SCW-103) and Narmada Super (SCW-104). �ey seem to be very promising varieties.

Chander Mohan in his article on �Seed: �e First Step towards the Growth� begins with three components which are basic to success in agriculture: the soil, seed and shram (the hard work). He reminds us that the seed is the basic and most critical input for sustainable agriculture. Towards later half of last century a major re-structuring of the seed industry was carried out by Government of India through the National Seed Project in three phases mainly to strengthen the seed infrastructure. Further he briefs about the state and national level seed companies both private and public and their share of seed business in India and ends with a brief on the global seed market scenario.

Volume 1 Issue 11 November 2015

www.krishijagran.com

contents

AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE W RLDW RLD

Niger oil is good absorbent of fragrance of flowers due to which it is used as a base oil by perfume industry

Used For Sowin� as A Seed and That Possess The Ability To Convert Into A Plant

Agriculture World is printed and published by: M. C. Dominic60/9, 3rd Floor, Yusuf Sarai Market, Near Green Park Metro Station, New Delhi 110016.Tel: 011-26511845, 26517923, Mobiles: +91-9313301029 - +91-9654193353.Email: [email protected], [email protected] • Web: www.krishijagran.com, www.kjcommoditynews.comPrinted at: HT Media Press, B-2,Sector 63, Noida - 201301, Dist. Gautam Budh Nagar (U.P.)

AGRO-CLIMATIC DIVISION FOR BETTER SEED AND CROP PRODUCTION

Essential to know the agro-climatic divisions of our country, useful not only for crops but also for choice of the types of animal husbandry

SEED THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS THE GROWTHSeed is the basic and most critical input for sustainable agriculture depends on quality of seeds toa alrge extent

SMALL SEED BIG BUSINESSSeed industry has grown from the past labor-intensive to modern industry monopolizing competition globalizing

SEED IS THE KEY FACTOR IN INCREASING PRODUCTIVITY AND PRODUCTIONProduction and productivity is mainly dependent on quality seeds in generating employments and growth of allied sector

CHALLENGES AND SCOPE INDIAN OILSEED SECTOROil seed crops play the second most important role in Indian agriculture after food grains

Pollinated Seeds Vinod Kumar GaurCMD, NSC

Low Volume High ValueRajesh Kumar SinghJt Secretary (Seeds)

Sr. Executive Editor Dr. KT Chandy RK Teotia Chander Mohan G.S. Saini

Editorial Head Sanjay KumarSenior Correspondent Ruby Jain

Correspondent Aniket Sinha Kanika Chauhan Imran Khan

Marketing Head PS SainiGM - Marketing Farha Khan

Sr. Manager Marketing KJ Saranya Sara Khan

Marketing Manager Megha Sharma Sr. Executive Marketing Afsana Malik Chunki Bhutia Poonam Bishwakarma Geeta Rawat Rinki Pundir Laxmi Pandey Soniya Mahajan Shifali Mahajan Preeti Chauhan Kanchan Singh Punam Pradhan Rachael Xavier Agnes Marry Hema Sharma Ritika Raju Jannet Johnson Rajni Kumari

Circulation Head Nishant K TaakSr. Executive Circulation Chander Dev Bhatt Rahul Singh Abdus Samad Sujata Gautam Anku Yadav Sukumar Dalai Pappu Ray Mohit

Head Pre-Press Dharmendra KumarDesigner Yogesh KumarAccounts KB Indira

Office Assistant Prem Kumar Ranjan

Editor-in-Chief

MC Dominic

Directors Shiny Emanuel MG Vasan

DD NairVP International Business (Russia & CIS Countries)6 Mikluho-Maklaya STR, Moscow, Russia 117198Mob: +7903729 98 30, Tel: +7499501 99 10Email: [email protected]

M MezhukanalE-16F - 33, Hamriya Free Zone, Sharjah, UAEMob: +971 50 2870465 Email: [email protected]

Disclaimer:While every care has been taken to ensure accuracy of the information contained in this publications, the publishers are not responsible for any errors or omissions that might have crept into this publications.No part of this publication may be reproduced or kept in a retrieval system, without the express permission of the publishers.

M C DominicEditor‐in‐Chief

[email protected]

Synthetic seed may be a new a term for most people in the agricultural science, at least in India, though intense research on it has been going on for the last ��een years in many parts of the world. However the

practical implementation is yet to come as there are many hurdles to be overcome. �e work on synthetic seed was initiated in the last decade of the last century but we can be sure that in the near future we will have synthetic seeds in the hands of the farmers for most of the crops. �e article by Sukhdeep Singh and Team. from Haryana Agricultural University presents the prospects of producing synthetic seeds in a number of crops to begin with.

Alluding to the smallness of seed and the vastness of seed companies spread throughout the world Alex Wu, Editor of AgroPages in his article presents a birds eye view of the present scenario of the seed industry. Beginning with the global scenario of seed industry he enumerates the top ten seed industrialists in the world along with their major activities during the year 2013 to 15. Further he highlights the need for the diversi�cation of genetic resources, R&D bodies and Laws and regulations to be made complete.

Crop growth is mainly governed by the climatic conditions of a place where they are grown. India is blessed with 15 agro-climatic regions and its greatest advantage is that it can grow all the crops in the world. Further it is divided into �ve regions depending on the length of the growing seasons. A third criteria for the agricultural division of our country is the moisture availability. To the seed industries the knowledge of these agro-climatic divisions of our country will enhance business prospectus. Dr. K. T. Chandy highlights these aspects in his article �Agro-Climatic Division for better Seed and Crop Production� for the bene�t of the seed industries.

Niger is a minor oilseed crop easily grown under rain fed conditions and in poor soils conditions especially on hill slopes. It is used for human consumption in the form of oil, which is pale yellow with nutty taste and a pleasant odor. Beginning with such qualities R. G. Upadhyay & Co., of Department of Agro-meteorology, College of Forestry, VCSG UUHF, Bharsar, Ranichauri Campus, Uttarakhand in their article provides a detailed agronomic practices of the crops Niger.

�is is followed by the article on Suraj Cropsciences Limited: Emerging Agri. Business Organization which has developed a new variety of bottle gourd called Devraj (SCLH-1053), two wheat varieties called Ganga Gold (SCW-103) and Narmada Super (SCW-104). �ey seem to be very promising varieties.

Chander Mohan in his article on �Seed: �e First Step towards the Growth� begins with three components which are basic to success in agriculture: the soil, seed and shram (the hard work). He reminds us that the seed is the basic and most critical input for sustainable agriculture. Towards later half of last century a major re-structuring of the seed industry was carried out by Government of India through the National Seed Project in three phases mainly to strengthen the seed infrastructure. Further he briefs about the state and national level seed companies both private and public and their share of seed business in India and ends with a brief on the global seed market scenario.

Volume 1 Issue 11 November 2015

contents

AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE W RLDW RLD

Niger oil is good absorbent of fragrance of flowers due to which it is used as a base oil by perfume industry

Used For Sowin� as A Seed and That Possess The Ability To Convert Into A Plant

Agriculture World is printed and published by: M. C. Dominic60/9, 3rd Floor, Yusuf Sarai Market, Near Green Park Metro Station, New Delhi 110016.Tel: 011-26511845, 26517923, Mobiles: +91-9313301029 - +91-9654193353.Email: [email protected], [email protected] • Web: www.krishijagran.com, www.kjcommoditynews.comPrinted at: HT Media Press, B-2,Sector 63, Noida - 201301, Dist. Gautam Budh Nagar (U.P.)

AGRO-CLIMATIC DIVISION FOR BETTER SEED AND CROP PRODUCTION

Essential to know the agro-climatic divisions of our country, useful not only for crops but also for choice of the types of animal husbandry

SEED THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS THE GROWTHSeed is the basic and most critical input for sustainable agriculture depends on quality of seeds toa alrge extent

SMALL SEED BIG BUSINESSSeed industry has grown from the past labor-intensive to modern industry monopolizing competition globalizing

SEED IS THE KEY FACTOR IN INCREASING PRODUCTIVITY AND PRODUCTIONProduction and productivity is mainly dependent on quality seeds in generating employments and growth of allied sector

CHALLENGES AND SCOPE INDIAN OILSEED SECTOROil seed crops play the second most important role in Indian agriculture after food grains

Pollinated Seeds Vinod Kumar GaurCMD, NSC

Low Volume High ValueRajesh Kumar SinghJt Secretary (Seeds)

072015 NOVEMBER AGRICULTURE WORLDwww.krishijagran.com

SYNTHETIC SEED TECHNOLOGYSYNTHETIC SEED TECHNOLOGY

06 AGRICULTURE WORLD NOVEMBER 2015

technology has been evolved in 1980s, wherein the somatic embryos could be used as functional seeds by encapsulating them in suitable matrix that will act as protective coat and synthetic endosperm containing carbon sources, nutrients, growth regulators and anti-microbial agents etc., necessary for embryo-to-plant development. Thus the 'synthetic seeds' or 'synseeds' or 'artificial seeds' or 'somatic seeds' are functionally defined as “somatic embryos engineered to be of use in commercial plant propagation”.

As the technology advanced, the concept of synthetic seed was extended to other micro propagules like shoot buds, shoot tips, organogenic or embryogenic celli etc. wherein these micro propagules were successfully encapsulated in suitable matrix and used like natural seeds in crops like banana, mulberry, apple etc. Thus, the concept of synthetic seeds has been set free from its bonds to somatic embryogenesis. The

INTRODUCTION

The technology designed to combine the advantages of clonal propagation with those of seed propagation and storage. Also, be as channel for new plant lines produced through biotechnology advances. The first synthetic seeds were produced by Kitto and Janick (1982) using carrot somatic embryos. Somatic embryo as a means of clonal propagation system has advantages over the natural seeds viz., freeness from seed borne pests , propagat ing the heterozygous plants that are meiotically unstable, eliminating the need of parental lines in hybrid seed production, maintenance of self-incompatible lines etc. However, somatic embryos could not be used like natural seeds because of the fact that the somatic embryos lack the protective coats and the reserved nutrient sources. In order to overcome these hurdles, the synthetic seed

Synthetic seeds are defined as artificially encapsulated somatic embryos, shoot buds, cell aggregates, or any other tissue that can be used for sowing as a seed and that possess the ability to convert into a plant under in vitro or ex vitro conditions and that retain this potential also after storage. In simple words, synthetic seed contains an embryo produced by somatic embryogenesis enclosed within an artificial medium that supplies nutrients and is encased in an artificial seed covering.

term not only refers to its use (storage and sowing) and product (plantlet) but also to other techniques of micro propagation like organogenesis and enhanced axillary bud proliferation system. Looking to these recent advances in synthetic seed technology, the 'synthetic seeds' or 'synseeds' or 'artificial seeds' or 'somatic seeds' could be redefined as “artificially synthetic Seed technology, somatic embryos, shoots, or other plant tissues which could be used for sowing under in vitro or ex vitro conditions, that are able to grow into plantlets after sowing”.

Characteristics of synthetic seeds

1. High volume, Large scale propagation method

2. Maintains genetic uniformity of plants

3. Direct delivery of propagules to the field, thus eliminating transplants

4. Lower cost per plant-let

5. Rapid multiplication of plants

PRODUCTION OF SYNTHETIC SEEDS

The mic ro propagu les u sed for production of synthetic seeds should be of uniform size and of same stage (especially in case of somatic embryos). Somatic embryos of uniform size and stage could be separated

production could be diverted for the crop production and the cost of hybrid seeds could be reduced by automation of the synthetic seed production.

Maintenance of self-incompatible lines and effective utilization of the self-incompatibility as 'hybrid seed production' tool: In Cole crops like

cauliflower, self-incompatibility is exploited to produce the hybrids,

where the parental lines used for production of hybrids are

self-incompatible but are cross compatible and the s e l f - i n c o m p a t i b l e p a r e n t a l l i n e s a r e

maintained and multiplied using the bud pollination

method, which is laborious method coming in the way of

timely supply of required quantity of quality seeds. By applying the synthetic seed technology for production of p a re n t a l l i n e s , t h e p ro b l e m o f maintenance and multiplication of self-incompatible line can be overcome. In addition, if the technology is applied directly to the production of hybrids, the c o s t o f h y b r i d s e e d s c o u l d b e comparatively reduced.

Clonal propagation of the tree species for effective afforestation: Production of true to type seeds in tree species is very difficult because of perennial nature of the tree crops, difficulties in identifying the off-types in early growth stages and meeting the isolation requirements. Hence, the clonal propagation through tissue culture is preferred in tree species. However, this technology fai ls in afforestation program in hilly areas where it is difficult for humans to reach and transplant the seedlings. Under such situations, using the synthetic seed technology, one can easily sow the synthetic seeds in the difficult terrains directly by airplanes (Air-sowing).

Freeness from seed-borne pests: As synthetic seeds are produced under aseptic conditions, the resulting seeds will be free from any seed-borne pests, provided the x-plant material used is free from such pests. Effective means of propagation for transgenic crops where the possibility of pollen escape is higher.

Procedure for synthetic seed production

The somatic embryos for synthetic seeds are produced in the lab through culturing of somatic cells and treating with different hormones to produce root and shoot. The following are the different steps involved in artificial seeds production;

Establish somatic embryogenesis

2) Mature somatic embryos

3) Synchronize and simulate somatic embryos

4) Mass production of embryos

5) Encapsulation of matured somatic embryos

6) Desiccation

7) Field planting

APPLICATIONS OF SYNTHETIC SEEDS

Propagation of heterozygous plants that are meiotically unstable and elimination of the need for parental lines in hybrid seed production as it may be multiplied by application of synthetic seed technology: At present the hybrid seeds in different crops were produced using CGMS/GMS/hand emasculation and pollination system that requires maintenance of three line/two line systems respectively and there is always chance for the presence of pollen shedders selfed seeds in the hybrid seed lots. By applying the 'synthetic seed technology' for the hybrid seed production, the problem of maintaining parental lines could be overcome and also the chance of admixtures in the produced hybrid seeds could be completely checked. In addition, the area devoted for seed

out from mass of somatic embryo culture using suc rose g rad ien t . I n case o f shoot buds/auxiliary buds/apical buds, they were cut into uniform size (2-3 mm) and were given s tandardized pre-t reatment before encapsulation to induce rooting. Once the micro propagules of same stages and uniform sizes are separated, the synthetic seeds could be produced by encapsulating them in suitable material.

1. Desiccated Synthetic Seeds

Desiccated synthetic seeds c o n s i s t o f s o m a t i c e m b r y o s encapsulated in water-soluble resin. After the selection of suitable micro propagules, they were mixed in suitable coating mixture like poly-oxy-ethylene and dropped on Teflon surface so that each droplet of the coating mixture is with at least one micro-propagule. Then the droplets are allowed to dry for several hours in a sterile hood. The dried droplets could be used as natural seeds. The main disadvantage of this method is that we get clumps of encapsulated micro propagules, and simulations of syn-seeds will be a-problem.

2. Hydrated Synthetic Seeds

Hydrated synthetic seeds consist of somatic embryos/other micro propagules individually encapsulated in a hydrogel. This is the most widely used method of synthetic seeds production. A number of substances have been tested as hydrogels but sodium alginate gel is the most popular. To produce hydrated synthetic seeds, the somatic embryos/micro propagules are mixed with sodium alginate gel (0.5-5.0% w/v) and dropped into a calcium salt solution (CaCl 2

30-100 mM) using the suitable pipette, where ion-exchange occurs and sodium ions were replaced by calcium ions forming calc ium alginate beads or capsu les surrounding the somatic embryos. The size of the capsule is controlled by varying the inner diameter of the pipette nozzle and viscosity of the alginate solution. The size of the bead increases with increasing the inner diameter of the pipette and with increased viscosity of the alginate solution. The hardness of the capsule could be modulated with the concentrations of sodium alginate and calcium chloride as well as by altering the duration of complexing, as both have direct influence on the capsule hardness.

Synthetic Seed Technology Synthetic Seed Technology

SYNTHETIC SEED TECHNOLOGYSYNTHETIC SEED TECHNOLOGY

06 AGRICULTURE WORLD NOVEMBER 2015

technology has been evolved in 1980s, wherein the somatic embryos could be used as functional seeds by encapsulating them in suitable matrix that will act as protective coat and synthetic endosperm containing carbon sources, nutrients, growth regulators and anti-microbial agents etc., necessary for embryo-to-plant development. Thus the 'synthetic seeds' or 'synseeds' or 'artificial seeds' or 'somatic seeds' are functionally defined as “somatic embryos engineered to be of use in commercial plant propagation”.

As the technology advanced, the concept of synthetic seed was extended to other micro propagules like shoot buds, shoot tips, organogenic or embryogenic celli etc. wherein these micro propagules were successfully encapsulated in suitable matrix and used like natural seeds in crops like banana, mulberry, apple etc. Thus, the concept of synthetic seeds has been set free from its bonds to somatic embryogenesis. The

INTRODUCTION

The technology designed to combine the advantages of clonal propagation with those of seed propagation and storage. Also, be as channel for new plant lines produced through biotechnology advances. The first synthetic seeds were produced by Kitto and Janick (1982) using carrot somatic embryos. Somatic embryo as a means of clonal propagation system has advantages over the natural seeds viz., freeness from seed borne pests , propagat ing the heterozygous plants that are meiotically unstable, eliminating the need of parental lines in hybrid seed production, maintenance of self-incompatible lines etc. However, somatic embryos could not be used like natural seeds because of the fact that the somatic embryos lack the protective coats and the reserved nutrient sources. In order to overcome these hurdles, the synthetic seed

Synthetic seeds are defined as artificially encapsulated somatic embryos, shoot buds, cell aggregates, or any other tissue that can be used for sowing as a seed and that possess the ability to convert into a plant under in vitro or ex vitro conditions and that retain this potential also after storage. In simple words, synthetic seed contains an embryo produced by somatic embryogenesis enclosed within an artificial medium that supplies nutrients and is encased in an artificial seed covering.

term not only refers to its use (storage and sowing) and product (plantlet) but also to other techniques of micro propagation like organogenesis and enhanced axillary bud proliferation system. Looking to these recent advances in synthetic seed technology, the 'synthetic seeds' or 'synseeds' or 'artificial seeds' or 'somatic seeds' could be redefined as “artificially synthetic Seed technology, somatic embryos, shoots, or other plant tissues which could be used for sowing under in vitro or ex vitro conditions, that are able to grow into plantlets after sowing”.

Characteristics of synthetic seeds

1. High volume, Large scale propagation method

2. Maintains genetic uniformity of plants

3. Direct delivery of propagules to the field, thus eliminating transplants

4. Lower cost per plant-let

5. Rapid multiplication of plants

PRODUCTION OF SYNTHETIC SEEDS

The mic ro propagu les u sed for production of synthetic seeds should be of uniform size and of same stage (especially in case of somatic embryos). Somatic embryos of uniform size and stage could be separated

production could be diverted for the crop production and the cost of hybrid seeds could be reduced by automation of the synthetic seed production.

Maintenance of self-incompatible lines and effective utilization of the self-incompatibility as 'hybrid seed production' tool: In Cole crops like

cauliflower, self-incompatibility is exploited to produce the hybrids,

where the parental lines used for production of hybrids are

self-incompatible but are cross compatible and the s e l f - i n c o m p a t i b l e p a r e n t a l l i n e s a r e

maintained and multiplied using the bud pollination

method, which is laborious method coming in the way of

timely supply of required quantity of quality seeds. By applying the synthetic seed technology for production of p a re n t a l l i n e s , t h e p ro b l e m o f maintenance and multiplication of self-incompatible line can be overcome. In addition, if the technology is applied directly to the production of hybrids, the c o s t o f h y b r i d s e e d s c o u l d b e comparatively reduced.

Clonal propagation of the tree species for effective afforestation: Production of true to type seeds in tree species is very difficult because of perennial nature of the tree crops, difficulties in identifying the off-types in early growth stages and meeting the isolation requirements. Hence, the clonal propagation through tissue culture is preferred in tree species. However, this technology fai ls in afforestation program in hilly areas where it is difficult for humans to reach and transplant the seedlings. Under such situations, using the synthetic seed technology, one can easily sow the synthetic seeds in the difficult terrains directly by airplanes (Air-sowing).

Freeness from seed-borne pests: As synthetic seeds are produced under aseptic conditions, the resulting seeds will be free from any seed-borne pests, provided the x-plant material used is free from such pests. Effective means of propagation for transgenic crops where the possibility of pollen escape is higher.

Procedure for synthetic seed production

The somatic embryos for synthetic seeds are produced in the lab through culturing of somatic cells and treating with different hormones to produce root and shoot. The following are the different steps involved in artificial seeds production;

Establish somatic embryogenesis

2) Mature somatic embryos

3) Synchronize and simulate somatic embryos

4) Mass production of embryos

5) Encapsulation of matured somatic embryos

6) Desiccation

7) Field planting

APPLICATIONS OF SYNTHETIC SEEDS

Propagation of heterozygous plants that are meiotically unstable and elimination of the need for parental lines in hybrid seed production as it may be multiplied by application of synthetic seed technology: At present the hybrid seeds in different crops were produced using CGMS/GMS/hand emasculation and pollination system that requires maintenance of three line/two line systems respectively and there is always chance for the presence of pollen shedders selfed seeds in the hybrid seed lots. By applying the 'synthetic seed technology' for the hybrid seed production, the problem of maintaining parental lines could be overcome and also the chance of admixtures in the produced hybrid seeds could be completely checked. In addition, the area devoted for seed

out from mass of somatic embryo culture using suc rose g rad ien t . I n case o f shoot buds/auxiliary buds/apical buds, they were cut into uniform size (2-3 mm) and were given s tandardized pre-t reatment before encapsulation to induce rooting. Once the micro propagules of same stages and uniform sizes are separated, the synthetic seeds could be produced by encapsulating them in suitable material.

1. Desiccated Synthetic Seeds

Desiccated synthetic seeds c o n s i s t o f s o m a t i c e m b r y o s encapsulated in water-soluble resin. After the selection of suitable micro propagules, they were mixed in suitable coating mixture like poly-oxy-ethylene and dropped on Teflon surface so that each droplet of the coating mixture is with at least one micro-propagule. Then the droplets are allowed to dry for several hours in a sterile hood. The dried droplets could be used as natural seeds. The main disadvantage of this method is that we get clumps of encapsulated micro propagules, and simulations of syn-seeds will be a-problem.

2. Hydrated Synthetic Seeds

Hydrated synthetic seeds consist of somatic embryos/other micro propagules individually encapsulated in a hydrogel. This is the most widely used method of synthetic seeds production. A number of substances have been tested as hydrogels but sodium alginate gel is the most popular. To produce hydrated synthetic seeds, the somatic embryos/micro propagules are mixed with sodium alginate gel (0.5-5.0% w/v) and dropped into a calcium salt solution (CaCl 2

30-100 mM) using the suitable pipette, where ion-exchange occurs and sodium ions were replaced by calcium ions forming calc ium alginate beads or capsu les surrounding the somatic embryos. The size of the capsule is controlled by varying the inner diameter of the pipette nozzle and viscosity of the alginate solution. The size of the bead increases with increasing the inner diameter of the pipette and with increased viscosity of the alginate solution. The hardness of the capsule could be modulated with the concentrations of sodium alginate and calcium chloride as well as by altering the duration of complexing, as both have direct influence on the capsule hardness.

Synthetic Seed Technology Synthetic Seed Technology

Sukhdeep Singh Sivia, Baldeep Singh and Naval Kishor KambojCCS Haryana Agriculture University, Hisar‐125004, India.

1Corresponding Author EMail: [email protected]

SUBSCRIPTION

DISCOUNT PER RATE

1 YEAR

2 YEARS

3 YEARS

5 YEARS

10 YEARS

15 YEARS

YEAR MONTHS RATE

ESEA Synthetic Seed Technology

08 AGRICULTURE WORLD NOVEMBER 2015 www.krishijagran.com

LIMITATIONS OF SYNTHETIC SEED TECHNOLOGY

Sukhdeep Singh Sivia, Baldeep Singh and Naval Kishor KambojCCS Haryana Agriculture University, Hisar‐125004, India.

1Corresponding Author EMail: [email protected]

SUBSCRIPTION

DISCOUNT PER RATE

1 YEAR

2 YEARS

3 YEARS

5 YEARS

10 YEARS

15 YEARS

YEAR MONTHS RATE

ESEA Synthetic Seed Technology

Future seed industry development

Seed demand continues to grow, Genetic

resources to be diversified

In the future, the world will experience global

warming, decrease of cultivated land, increase of

rapeseed trait will take 11.7 years; 12 years for corn;

12.7 years for cotton; 16.3 years for soybean. It will

take an extra 10 years for special crop varieties,

which is a challenge to development of new trait seed.

Laws and regulations to be made complete

With the development of seed industry,

relevant legal system has been established which

regulates and promotes the commercialization of

seed development.

The challenge to EU seed market is caused by its

market access-related policies. So far EU's only

approved GM crop is MON 810 corn, which is banned

by 9 member countries. EU law and regulation

concern about the impact caused by GM crops to the

biological diversity, diffused impact from GM trait to

wild species and the impact from single trait to pest

and weed resistance. In a foreseeable future, the

laws and regulations of EU and some other countries

that concern about human health, environment and

agronomic trait will still affect the development of

GM crops in many countries.

The demographic dividend and market

potential of emerging market are important driving

force for the development of future seed industry.

Different from the developed economy, emerging

market is confronted with problems such as the weak

research capacity, disconnected industry chain,

incomplete law and regulation, insufficient product

protection, quality resources under control of foreign

investors, and etc. Therefore it is an urgent

need to establish complete legal system for

seed industry. In 2015 China will amend the Seed

Law of PR China, which will position seed industry to

ALEX WU

ESEAESEA Small Seed Big Business Small Seed Big Business

Fig. 3: Global Seed market value and sharesof different crop types in 2014 ($ bn)

Others5.9 11%

Grain Crops25.3,47%

Oil Crops15,28%

Vegetables7-6, 14%

Fig. 2: Seed market value and shares of differentareas in 2014 ($ bn)

OthersAreas

5.3,10%LatinAmerica4.7, 9%

NorthAmerica

17.6, 33%

Europe9.7, 18%

AsiaPacific

16.5, 30%

Table 1 Sales and global market share of top 10 seed companies in 2014

Ranking Company Global market share Sales of seed business (US$ bn)

1 Monsanto (U.S.) 20% 10.76

2 DuPont (U.S.) 15% 8.07

3 Syngenta (Switzerland) 6% 3.23

4 Groupe Limagrain (France) 3% 1.61

5 Land O'Lake (U.S.) 3% 1.61

6 KWS AG (Germany) 3% 1.61

7 Bayer Crop Sciences (Germany) 2% 1.08

8 Doe AgroSciences 3% 16.1

9 Sakata (Japan) 1% 5.4

10 DLF-Trifolium (Denmark) 1% 5.4

Other Seed Companies 43% 231.3

Seed industry is the starting point of

commercial agriculture, which being a

fundamental and strategic industry naturally

involves agricultural production capacity,

increase farmer's income, and assurance of food

security, improvement of national economy and

people's livelihood. Since the founding of the first

seed company, the world seed industry has

developed for 270 years. Globally speaking, seed

industry has grown from the past labor-intensive,

management-extensive and capital-decentralized

form into a modern industry integrating extensive

technology, intensive capital, market-monopolizing

and competition-globalizing.

Overview of global seed market

According to ISF and industry consultant report,

the global seed market value increased from the $12

billion in 1975 to the $53.8 billion in 2014, which is

3.5 times growth over the last 40 years. In the 5

years ahead, the global seed market is foreseen to

maintain fast growth, being expected to arrive at

9.4% CAGR from 2015 – 2020 to reach $92 billion in

With the continued development of biological

technology, global GM crop planting continues to

grow. Thanks to GM crop's high yield, extensive

adaptability, less reliance on chemical pesticide and

higher nutrition value, commercial GM seed market

has grown continuously since 1996. The GM seed

market value went up from the $7.8 billion in 2007

up to the $14.8 billion in 2012 with growth rate

having reached 90%. The GM seed market share also

increased rapidly, from 25% up to 33 % (Figure 1). It

is expected that by 2020 global GM seed market

value will reach $31.3 billion.

Territory statistics (Figure 2) suggests that seed

market of North America ranked No.1 with market

value of $17.6 billion and market share of 32%; Asia

Pacific ranked No.2 with market value of $16.5

billion and market share of 31% which is very close to

North America, followed by Europe ($9.7 billion and

18%) and Latin America ($4.7 billion and 9%).

Country Statistics suggests that the top 10 ranked

countries are US, China, France, Brazil, Canada,

India, Japan, Germany, Argentina and Italy. The total

market value of the top 10 amounts to $41.9 billion

accounting for 78% of the world total, which shows a

high degree of centralization of planting area. The

traditional North American market and the emerging

Asia Pacific market are developing in parallel.

Crop statistics (Figure 3) suggests that cereal

seed played a major role in 2014 with a market value

of $25.3 billion and market share of 47%, followed

by oil plant ($15 billion and 28%), fruit and

vegetable ($7.6 billion and 14%). If calculated in

crop category, corn market value turns out to be the

largest having reached $12.2 billion with market

share of 23%; wheat, rice and soybean are between

$6 billion to 7 billion with market share of 11% -

13%; rapeseed, cotton and sunflower are important

oil plants, on top of soybean, being between $1

billion to 2 billion with market share of no more than

Multinational's seed development strategy

Since the founding of the first seed company

Vilmorin in 1743 (now affiliated to Limagrain), world

famous seed companies have been founded one after

another over the last 100 years. In the 90's of last

century, the issue of intellectual property rights

continued to extend to crossbreeding sector. Large-

scale groups have participated in mergers of seed

industry players, leading to lots of merger and

acquisition activities, resulting in formation of a

number of highly-developed multinational seed

enterprises, who are mostly located in developed

countries where seed industry began earlier with

higher economic level like the US, Netherland,

Germany, France, Japan, UK, Denmark, Switzerland

and Sweden. Later Monsanto, DuPont, Syngenta and

Dow AgroSciences, based upon traditional

crossbreeding, have further utilized biological

technology to breed GM single trait and multiple trait

varieties to consolidate their monopoly position in the

industry, having gradually pulled ahead from other

seed companies.

The 2014 top 10 global seed companies (Table

1) shows that companies who have invested in GM

trait field captures larger market share and takes an

advance opportunity of seed development in the

future, which are represented by Monsanto, DuPont,

Syngenta, Dow AgroSciences and Bayer CropScience.

The seed sales of the 5 companies of 2014 accounted

for nearly half of the world seed market, having

reached 46% of the world market value. Other

companies focused on different aspects of seed

business, where KWS specialized in normal seed

varieties covering cereal and sugar beet seed;

Limagrain and Land O'Lakes covered seed, biological

research, food processing and healthcare; Japanese

Sakata and DLF worked on horticultural seed and

grass seed.

To further enhance the competitive edge with

respect to research, registration, production, sales

and service of seed industry, the prime seed

companies have launched series of investment,

collaboration, mergers and expansion of business to

promote a new round market deployment. The

summary of the major business activities of each

company in 2013-2015 (Table 2) reveals their

respective product strategy – besides continued key

cereal seed research and commercialization process,

stress is laid on new varieties and new trait; besides

increase of capacity to grow market share,

expedition of emerging market and sales channel is

enhanced.

35.00%

30.00%

25.00%

20.00%

15.00%

10.00%

32.96%

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Fig. 1: Value changes of global seed market in 2007-2012

Seed of GM crops ($ bn) Seed of conventional crops ($ bn)

Market share of GM seed

23.327.8 26.7

30 29.3 30.1

25.08% 24.46%

28.42%27.18%

31.22%

9 10.6

11.2 13.3

Future seed industry development

Seed demand continues to grow, Genetic

resources to be diversified

In the future, the world will experience global

warming, decrease of cultivated land, increase of

rapeseed trait will take 11.7 years; 12 years for corn;

12.7 years for cotton; 16.3 years for soybean. It will

take an extra 10 years for special crop varieties,

which is a challenge to development of new trait seed.

Laws and regulations to be made complete

With the development of seed industry,

relevant legal system has been established which

regulates and promotes the commercialization of

seed development.

The challenge to EU seed market is caused by its

market access-related policies. So far EU's only

approved GM crop is MON 810 corn, which is banned

by 9 member countries. EU law and regulation

concern about the impact caused by GM crops to the

biological diversity, diffused impact from GM trait to

wild species and the impact from single trait to pest

and weed resistance. In a foreseeable future, the

laws and regulations of EU and some other countries

that concern about human health, environment and

agronomic trait will still affect the development of

GM crops in many countries.

The demographic dividend and market

potential of emerging market are important driving

force for the development of future seed industry.

Different from the developed economy, emerging

market is confronted with problems such as the weak

research capacity, disconnected industry chain,

incomplete law and regulation, insufficient product

protection, quality resources under control of foreign

investors, and etc. Therefore it is an urgent

need to establish complete legal system for

seed industry. In 2015 China will amend the Seed

Law of PR China, which will position seed industry to

ALEX WU

ESEAESEA Small Seed Big Business Small Seed Big Business

Fig. 3: Global Seed market value and sharesof different crop types in 2014 ($ bn)

Others5.9 11%

Grain Crops25.3,47%

Oil Crops15,28%

Vegetables7-6, 14%

Fig. 2: Seed market value and shares of differentareas in 2014 ($ bn)

OthersAreas

5.3,10%LatinAmerica4.7, 9%

NorthAmerica

17.6, 33%

Europe9.7, 18%

AsiaPacific

16.5, 30%

Table 1 Sales and global market share of top 10 seed companies in 2014

Ranking Company Global market share Sales of seed business (US$ bn)

1 Monsanto (U.S.) 20% 10.76

2 DuPont (U.S.) 15% 8.07

3 Syngenta (Switzerland) 6% 3.23

4 Groupe Limagrain (France) 3% 1.61

5 Land O'Lake (U.S.) 3% 1.61

6 KWS AG (Germany) 3% 1.61

7 Bayer Crop Sciences (Germany) 2% 1.08

8 Doe AgroSciences 3% 16.1

9 Sakata (Japan) 1% 5.4

10 DLF-Trifolium (Denmark) 1% 5.4

Other Seed Companies 43% 231.3

Seed industry is the starting point of

commercial agriculture, which being a

fundamental and strategic industry naturally

involves agricultural production capacity,

increase farmer's income, and assurance of food

security, improvement of national economy and

people's livelihood. Since the founding of the first

seed company, the world seed industry has

developed for 270 years. Globally speaking, seed

industry has grown from the past labor-intensive,

management-extensive and capital-decentralized

form into a modern industry integrating extensive

technology, intensive capital, market-monopolizing

and competition-globalizing.

Overview of global seed market

According to ISF and industry consultant report,

the global seed market value increased from the $12

billion in 1975 to the $53.8 billion in 2014, which is

3.5 times growth over the last 40 years. In the 5

years ahead, the global seed market is foreseen to

maintain fast growth, being expected to arrive at

9.4% CAGR from 2015 – 2020 to reach $92 billion in

With the continued development of biological

technology, global GM crop planting continues to

grow. Thanks to GM crop's high yield, extensive

adaptability, less reliance on chemical pesticide and

higher nutrition value, commercial GM seed market

has grown continuously since 1996. The GM seed

market value went up from the $7.8 billion in 2007

up to the $14.8 billion in 2012 with growth rate

having reached 90%. The GM seed market share also

increased rapidly, from 25% up to 33 % (Figure 1). It

is expected that by 2020 global GM seed market

value will reach $31.3 billion.

Territory statistics (Figure 2) suggests that seed

market of North America ranked No.1 with market

value of $17.6 billion and market share of 32%; Asia

Pacific ranked No.2 with market value of $16.5

billion and market share of 31% which is very close to

North America, followed by Europe ($9.7 billion and

18%) and Latin America ($4.7 billion and 9%).

Country Statistics suggests that the top 10 ranked

countries are US, China, France, Brazil, Canada,

India, Japan, Germany, Argentina and Italy. The total

market value of the top 10 amounts to $41.9 billion

accounting for 78% of the world total, which shows a

high degree of centralization of planting area. The

traditional North American market and the emerging

Asia Pacific market are developing in parallel.

Crop statistics (Figure 3) suggests that cereal

seed played a major role in 2014 with a market value

of $25.3 billion and market share of 47%, followed

by oil plant ($15 billion and 28%), fruit and

vegetable ($7.6 billion and 14%). If calculated in

crop category, corn market value turns out to be the

largest having reached $12.2 billion with market

share of 23%; wheat, rice and soybean are between

$6 billion to 7 billion with market share of 11% -

13%; rapeseed, cotton and sunflower are important

oil plants, on top of soybean, being between $1

billion to 2 billion with market share of no more than

Multinational's seed development strategy

Since the founding of the first seed company

Vilmorin in 1743 (now affiliated to Limagrain), world

famous seed companies have been founded one after

another over the last 100 years. In the 90's of last

century, the issue of intellectual property rights

continued to extend to crossbreeding sector. Large-

scale groups have participated in mergers of seed

industry players, leading to lots of merger and

acquisition activities, resulting in formation of a

number of highly-developed multinational seed

enterprises, who are mostly located in developed

countries where seed industry began earlier with

higher economic level like the US, Netherland,

Germany, France, Japan, UK, Denmark, Switzerland

and Sweden. Later Monsanto, DuPont, Syngenta and

Dow AgroSciences, based upon traditional

crossbreeding, have further utilized biological

technology to breed GM single trait and multiple trait

varieties to consolidate their monopoly position in the

industry, having gradually pulled ahead from other

seed companies.

The 2014 top 10 global seed companies (Table

1) shows that companies who have invested in GM

trait field captures larger market share and takes an

advance opportunity of seed development in the

future, which are represented by Monsanto, DuPont,

Syngenta, Dow AgroSciences and Bayer CropScience.

The seed sales of the 5 companies of 2014 accounted

for nearly half of the world seed market, having

reached 46% of the world market value. Other

companies focused on different aspects of seed

business, where KWS specialized in normal seed

varieties covering cereal and sugar beet seed;

Limagrain and Land O'Lakes covered seed, biological

research, food processing and healthcare; Japanese

Sakata and DLF worked on horticultural seed and

grass seed.

To further enhance the competitive edge with

respect to research, registration, production, sales

and service of seed industry, the prime seed

companies have launched series of investment,

collaboration, mergers and expansion of business to

promote a new round market deployment. The

summary of the major business activities of each

company in 2013-2015 (Table 2) reveals their

respective product strategy – besides continued key

cereal seed research and commercialization process,

stress is laid on new varieties and new trait; besides

increase of capacity to grow market share,

expedition of emerging market and sales channel is

enhanced.

35.00%

30.00%

25.00%

20.00%

15.00%

10.00%

32.96%

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Fig. 1: Value changes of global seed market in 2007-2012

Seed of GM crops ($ bn) Seed of conventional crops ($ bn)

Market share of GM seed

23.327.8 26.7

30 29.3 30.1

25.08% 24.46%

28.42%27.18%

31.22%

9 10.6

11.2 13.3

In 1930, United States Patent and Trade

Mark Office (PTO) issued the Plant Patent

Act (PPA), offering patent protection for

crop varieties from vegetative propagation

and vegetative reproduction.

In 1970, US issued the Plant Variety

Protection Act (PVPA), offering legal

protection for the breeding achievement by

private institutons, ehich facilitated private-

run firms to grow their market.

In 1980, United States patent and Trade

Mark Office (PTO) authorized the first seed

patent. Thereafter large seed companies

started accumulation of genetic resources

for breeding research in hopes of using

biological technology to monopolize

market.

In 2000, China issued the Seed Law of PR

China, which is a breakthrough in the

monopolized seed business operation by

s ta te -owned compan ies to enab le

diversified market players.

Alex WuEditor of AgroPages

Email: [email protected]

ESEA Small Seed Big Business

Table 2 major business activities of each company in 2013-2015

Research and Development Market Expansion

February 2013 - Sakata reached a cooperation agreement with American national watermelon association on Triploid watermelon varieties breeding project.

January 2013 – Tennessee Farmers Association (TFC), Regional Farm Supply Organization and Land O'Lakes, Inc., established Greenpoint AG, LLG in the United States by joint venture to provide agri-chemical products and seeds of com. cotton, soybean, rice for growers.

April 2013 - Monsanto and Dow reached a

technology sharing agreements to develop the next generation of insect resistant, herbicide resistant maize varieties.

April 2013 – Bayer and Holland KeyGene reached a product development agreement on new varieties of wheat, rapeseed, rice and cotton.

April 2013 – Monsanto and Bayer reached agreements on the use of new genetically modified technologies, which included Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield, Intacta RR2 PRP from Monsanto and corn rootworm control technology and herbicide tolerant technology from Bayer.

September 2014 – Bayer invested and established the Memphis cotton research and development center.

September 2014 – French seed company MOMONT transferred part of stock shares to KWS.

February 2013 – Syngenta invested $77 million

to expand the capacity of corn seed plant in Brazil, the capacity of this plant will be 4 times higher than the original in 2015.

July 2013 – DLF acquired Pickseed USA to occupy a dominant position of produce and distribute lawn and forage crop seed products in the North American market.

March 2014 – Groupe Limagrain merged Bengal Seed Asia Company to expand South Asia seed market and especially to improve tropical maize seed market share.

December 2014 – Groupe Limagrain invested in Brazil wheat market to improve the wheat seed market share in Brazil and other countries of Latin America.

April 2015 – Arcadia Biosciences (U.S.), Bioceres, S.A. (Argentina) and Dow AgroSciences (U.S.) reached a cooperation agreement to expant the market of Latin America.

February 2015 – Mycogen Seeds of Dow AgroSciences company launched a news soybean com seed R&D Center in Puerto Rico.

be a national strategic and fundamental core

industry. The new law will cover all sectors of seed

industry including research, production, distribution,

import/export, genetic resource conservation and

intellectual property protection. The release of the

new seed law will have a significant influence on

China's seed development pattern.

In 1930, United States Patent and Trade

Mark Office (PTO) issued the Plant Patent

Act (PPA), offering patent protection for

crop varieties from vegetative propagation

and vegetative reproduction.

In 1970, US issued the Plant Variety

Protection Act (PVPA), offering legal

protection for the breeding achievement by

private institutons, ehich facilitated private-

run firms to grow their market.

In 1980, United States patent and Trade

Mark Office (PTO) authorized the first seed

patent. Thereafter large seed companies

started accumulation of genetic resources

for breeding research in hopes of using

biological technology to monopolize

market.

In 2000, China issued the Seed Law of PR

China, which is a breakthrough in the

monopolized seed business operation by

s ta te -owned compan ies to enab le

diversified market players.

Alex WuEditor of AgroPages

ESEA Small Seed Big Business

Table 2 major business activities of each company in 2013-2015

Research and Development Market Expansion

February 2013 - Sakata reached a cooperation agreement with American national watermelon association on Triploid watermelon varieties breeding project.

January 2013 – Tennessee Farmers Association (TFC), Regional Farm Supply Organization and Land O'Lakes, Inc., established Greenpoint AG, LLG in the United States by joint venture to provide agri-chemical products and seeds of com. cotton, soybean, rice for growers.

April 2013 - Monsanto and Dow reached a

technology sharing agreements to develop the next generation of insect resistant, herbicide resistant maize varieties.

April 2013 – Bayer and Holland KeyGene reached a product development agreement on new varieties of wheat, rapeseed, rice and cotton.

April 2013 – Monsanto and Bayer reached agreements on the use of new genetically modified technologies, which included Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield, Intacta RR2 PRP from Monsanto and corn rootworm control technology and herbicide tolerant technology from Bayer.

September 2014 – Bayer invested and established the Memphis cotton research and development center.

September 2014 – French seed company MOMONT transferred part of stock shares to KWS.

February 2013 – Syngenta invested $77 million

to expand the capacity of corn seed plant in Brazil, the capacity of this plant will be 4 times higher than the original in 2015.

July 2013 – DLF acquired Pickseed USA to occupy a dominant position of produce and distribute lawn and forage crop seed products in the North American market.

March 2014 – Groupe Limagrain merged Bengal Seed Asia Company to expand South Asia seed market and especially to improve tropical maize seed market share.

December 2014 – Groupe Limagrain invested in Brazil wheat market to improve the wheat seed market share in Brazil and other countries of Latin America.

April 2015 – Arcadia Biosciences (U.S.), Bioceres, S.A. (Argentina) and Dow AgroSciences (U.S.) reached a cooperation agreement to expant the market of Latin America.

February 2015 – Mycogen Seeds of Dow AgroSciences company launched a news soybean com seed R&D Center in Puerto Rico.

Seed is a critical and basic input for attaining higher crop yields and sustained growth in agricultural production. Distribution of assured quality seed is as critical as the production of such seeds. Unfortunately, good quality seeds are out of reach of the majority of farmers, especially

small and marginal farmers mainly because of exorbitant prices of better seeds. In order to solve this problem, the Government of India established the National Seeds Corporation (NSC) in 1963 and the State Farmers Corporation of India (SFCI) in 1969. Thirteen State Seed Corporations (SSCs) were also established to augment the supply of improved seeds to the farmers.

The Indian seed industry had exhibited impressive growth in the past and is expected to provide further potential for growth in agricultural production: The role of seed industry is not only to produce adequate quantity of quality seeds but also to achieve varietal diversity to suit various agro-climatic zones of the country. The policy statements are designed towards making available to the Indian farmer, adequate quantities of seed of superior quality at the appropriate time and place and at an affordable price so as to meet the country's food and nutritional security goals.

Indian seeds programme largely adheres to limited generation system for seed multiplication. The system recognizes three kinds of generation, namely breeder, foundation and certified seeds. Breeder seed is the basic seed and first stage in seed production. Foundation seed is the second stage in seed production chain and is the progeny of breeder seed. The Agriculture World Team had an interaction with Shri Vinod Kumar Gaur, Chairman cum Managing Director of the National Seeds Corporation Limited (NSC), a Government of India Undertaking ̀ Mini Ratna` Company, who spoke about the Seed scenario with a public sector view point.

How NSC is able to compete with the other players in the market in the 600 varieties of seeds?NSC has strong presence of high volume low value segment to fulfill the

needs of all classes of farmers. With large number of varieties, NSC can compete with other players having large quantum of certified seeds available at reasonable prices which cater to the need of farmers. State Seeds Corporations are also doing the business on similar lines but with estimated number of products and they alone are not able to fulfill the requirement of their

own state. NSC with large products occupies the position of one stop shop for seeds which farmers prefer to meet their all requirement from our place.

What is the business mantra of NSC creating bonding with the Indian Farmer?

The business mantra of NSC creating bonding with Indian farmers lies in its visit which aims prosperity of farming community. NSC's activities of seed production through grower's farmers are the first step in bonding with farmers. A faith is developed among farmers regarding quality assurance by NSC's long presence since 1963. A large quantum of certified seed produced through at farms of NSC and such grower farmers is sold to the farmers at reasonable sale price in market through dealers net work and also under various schemes of Government of India for the benefit of farmers.

Any Innovations, improvisation NSC is involved for improvement in view of the Global Completion?

T h e r e i s n o s c e n a r i o o f competition. Seed Act provision surety for farmers to take seed available from any place in the world which is beneficial for him. NSC deals mainly open and close pollinated variety and hybrids mainly developed by National Agriculture Research

Open Pollinated Seeds Demand Important for Food and Nutritional Security

INTERVIEWManagement system which includes ICAR Insti tute and Agricultural Universities.

Open pollinated seeds are also in great demand and mainly available even these seeds which are very important for food and nutritional security is not a small job. In order to streamline this, Government of India has recen t l y merged ano the r Corporation State Farms Corporation of India (SFCI) with NSC from 1.4.2014 with this about 22000 ha. Farms have become available with NSC which will help in preparation of breeder and foundation seeds required for multiplication of certified seeds. Farms are also working as production stations for Test Stock and this breeder seed become available to NSC at least one year in advance and with the release of variety, NSC is able to bring the seed in the market. NSC is tying up with multinational companies for their product and processing products are sold through NSC channels. As such, a situation of complementing and supplementing e x i s t s i n s t e a d o f g o i n g i n t o competition.

NSC`s market share in the seed market in view of other private manufacturers of seeds?

In the recent past, Government of India has encouraged private sector in production and distribution of seed at local level. In all 500 small and medium seed companies are working in Indi. Still Corporation is able to maintain 5% share in the seed market in India.

a) N S C a i m s t o s t r u c t u r a l l y strengthen its farms by developing irrigation systems bring more land under cultivate to ensure s o u n d a n d h e a l t h y s e e d product ion of breeder and foundation stages to9 support c e r t i f i ed s eed p roduc t i on programme.

b) NSC plans to venture in Agri. tourism concept at few farms and a lso popular ize benef ic ia l farming options for small land holders.

c) NSC plans to undertake production and marketing to a level of 25 lakh qtls. which is presently at 16-17 lakh qtls. and reach a level of 7% in 2 years and 10% shall in next 5 years.

What are the threats you are tackling in the business of the seeds?

The threats in tackling in the business of seeds are:

a. Initiation of private sector into high volume low value segment and persistent demand for subsidy eligibility.

b. Seed procurement by State Government through tender system from seed companies not having adequate resources for quality seed production.

c. Preferential treatment of State Seed Corporation by respective State Government and stoppage of subsidy centrally to NSC under some of the schemes.

What about quality maintenance of seeds?The quality maintenance of seeds

is the basic emphasis of NSC. With the own farms, NSC would be able to maintain quality of breeder and foundation seed, which are the root cause of quality deterioration which producing certified seeds. The quality of certified seed is maintained at every stage right from sowing to processing and packing. Large technical manpower with expertise in seed production and long experience in the seed industry is available with NSC particularly in quality seed production. Over and above, 99% of seed is produced under trial produced under third party certification system whose officer s of seed certifications agencies also supervise quality of different production and seed preposition.

Up till now NSC has not opted for ISO certification, Why?

It has opted long back ISO 9001:2008 and 14001:2014.

Any CSR activities of NSC for the benefit of the Farming Community?

CSR activities are being carried out for the benefits of farming community like planting of trees in rural areas, constructions of village

Open Pollinated Seeds Demand Important for Food and Nutritional Security SHRI VINOD KUMAR GAUR, CMD, NSC

road, schools etc. and assuring drinking water in rural areas for rural children.

What are the future plans of NSC in view of seeds as well as farming community?

Keeping in view of change in scenario from the variety of hybrids, NSC plan is to increase seed production of Maize, Sorghum, Bajra and vegetables besides production through MoU partners in order to cater the need of farming community.

a. It is decided to switch over to the newer variety in all major crops in a gradual manner with reduction in production of older varieties specially in crops like paddy, wheat, groundnut, pulses etc.

b. L a u n c h i n g o f p r o j e c t f o r intensification of marketing ac t i v i t y and NSC b rand promotion.

c. Business opportunities is explored in States where State Seeds Corporations are either not established or in infancy stage.

d. Business opportunities in North Eastern States under BGREI.

e. Entry into BT. Cotton segment.

f. O r g a n i z i n g l a r g e s c a l e demonstration of the newer varieties to popularize the same among the farmers to enhance acceptability of the seeds of newer varieties.

g. Enhancing the seed production, processing and marketing by expanding growers net work and through PPP.

h. Providing training/ extension and other seed related services to the farmers.

i. Erection of solar power fencing at farms to safeguard the crops from wild animals.

j. Establishment of Fodder Block Making Unit.

k. Establishment of Micro Irrigation Systems (Central Pivotal System, Sprinkler, Jet System, Drip Irrigation).

152015 NOVEMBER AGRICULTURE WORLDwww.krishijagran.com14 AGRICULTURE WORLD NOVEMBER 2015 www.krishijagran.com

Interviewed by

Chander Mohan Sr. Execu�ve Editor, Krishi Jagran, New Delhi