Seed replacement rate and management of wheat seed in Amritsar district of Punjab Singh Ikraj1, Kaur Lavleen1,*, Kamboj Vipan1, Astha2, Singh Amanpreet2 1Department of Agriculture, Khalsa College, Amritsar-143 002, Punjab, India 2Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-141 004, Punjab, India *Corresponding Author: Lavleen Kaur, Department of Agriculture, Khalsa College, Amritsar-143 002, Punjab, India, Email: guralvs@yahoo.com
Online Published on 3 January, 2024. Abstract Background Seed is the starting point of agriculture and dictates ultimate productivity of other inputs. Quality seed of improved varieties is an important basic unit for enhancing productivity of any crop species. As the quality deteriorates during subsequent generations, the old must be replaced with fresh lots of quality seeds. The present study was an attempt to analyze the source, SRR and management of wheat seed in Amritsar district of Punjab. Methods The current study was conducted on primary data collected from 120 farmers during the agricultural year 2019-20. The data was analyzed using simple tabular analysis and other suitable statistical techniques. Result The study found that the most preferred source of seed was institutional sources from which 45.83 per cent of the seed was procured from these agencies. The second most preferred source was self-retained by the farmers as 43.70 per cent farmer's preferred self-retained seeds. Only small farmers and medium farmers procured wheat seed from fellow farmers, relatives and friends. This source was preferred by small and medium farmers as seed is available free of cost and no immediate cash payment was charged by fellow farmers or relatives. Seed replacement rate was found to be 49.94 per cent for wheat crop in Amritsar district of Punjab. The study found that minimum attention was paid at post storage of wheat seed (2.50 per cent) whereas maximum attention was paid in the field (48.83 per cent) during wheat seed production. The main determinants of purity and quality of wheat seed were past experience of the farmer, repute of the institution, tag of certification agency and advice of known person. Seed replacement rate (SSR) for wheat was less for small farmers in the study area which can be increased by giving incentives to farmers for using certified seeds. These incentives can be in the form of higher price of produce to the small farmers. Maximum farmers used self-retained seed foe the next season and they paid minimum attention to the storage of seed which lead to deterioration in the quality of seed. Farmers should be educated to use scientific methods in the storage of seeds. Top Keywords Crop, Farm category, Seed replacement rate, Source, Wheat. Top |