Without a doubt, seed production can be defined as high-level agriculture. The creation of a variety or hybrid begins with the prolonged high-qualified work of breeders.
Everything starts with genetics
With various methods of natural and artificial combination of genes and biological characteristics in laboratories and then on experimental plots in the field, varieties and hybrids are created. This is followed by their testing, observation, and a lengthy registration process. The next process, equal in responsibility, precision, and difficulty, is variety maintenance. Up to this point, the active work is done by geneticists and breeders.
Variety maintenance and the subsequent process of seed production are the responsibility of seed producers. Seed production is usually a one-year cycle of seed production for subsequent reproduction or investment in mass field or garden production.
The reproduction of seeds and hybrids of different generations is a process that requires qualification, experience, a lot of investment, and material assets. Good seed production primarily depends on the purity, quality, and preparation of the starting material. Whether it will be preliminary multiplications (PM), pre-basic (PB) or basic (B) in varieties and initial parental lines in hybrids, it is important that the level of frequency and economic qualities are reliable.
Stages of seed production
- Sowing of initial lines in hybrids and high generations in varieties;
- Declaration of crops with the corresponding documentation - certificates of origin and quality, sowing norms, and description of the field. The crop dossier includes: orthophoto map of the crop, document for the origin of the sowing material, declaration for the predecessor of the crop, act for sowing;
- Application of precise agronomy - making decisions for treatments, fertilization, plant protection depending on the recommendations of the breeder, the peculiarities and requirements of the variety or hybrid and compliance with the climatic peculiarities of the agricultural year;
- Multiple inspection and variety cleaning of the crop;
- Field approvals of seed production areas - once or multiple times, depending on whether a variety or hybrid is approved;
- Harvesting of seeds - manually or mechanically;
- Preparation: cleaning, drying, calibrating, treating, packaging;
- Sampling for certification - seed analysis in laboratories of the Executive Agency for Variety Testing, Approval and Seed Control (EAVTASC);
- Sale of the finished product.
Each stage of the seed production process requires specific and different levels of knowledge and technical security.
