Syllabus
Theory
General Principles of Seed Production: Raising the seed crop, Introduction, Procurement of a class of Improved seeds, Reporting to Monitoring or certification Agency, Principles and practices of selection of area and agronomic requirement of seed production of field crops, Importance of isolation distance and rouging, Principles of hybrid seed production in field crops, Principles and practices of selection of area and agronomic requirement of seed production of horticultural crops, Concept of apomixis, male sterility and self-incompatibility
and its application in hybrid seed production of horticultural crops. General Principles of Seed Processing: Introduction, Objectives of Seed Processing, Seed Drying, Principles of Drying, Water vapour equilibrium, Methods of drying seeds, Cleaning and grading, Air and screen machines, Dimensional separators, Density separators, Surface texture separators, Colour separators, Spiral separators, Electric separators, Vibrator separators, Separation based on Affinity to liquids, Seed treatment, Temperature treatment, Chemical treatment, Bagging and Labelling General Principles of Seed Testing: Seed testing-introduction, Procedure of Seed testing, components of seed quality testing genetic, physical, physiological and seed health testing, Seed sampling, Types of seed sampling, Requirements of sampling, Concept of seed viability and vigour; dormancy, types and principles of seed dormancy, Physiological quality of seed, Principles of seed germination, types of germination, biochemical and genetic basis. Seed Certification: History, concept and objectives of seed certification; seed certification agency/organization and staff requirement Indian Minimum Seed Certification Standards (I.M.S.C.S.) – General and specific crop standards including GM varieties, field and seed standards.
Seed Industry and Seed Marketing : Introduction, Evolution of the seed industry, Development
of the vegetable and Flower seed industry, Seed marketing – Concept, definition and purpose,
importance and promotion of quality seed, formal and informal seed supply systems, Seed marketing intelligence and product mix, sales promotion, distribution channels, marketing costs and margins; packaging and labeling, Seed Associations, Factors influencing seed marketing, Seed marketing programs, Seed industry organizations, Marketing of public versus private players, Demand and supply of seed; role of seed replacement rate (SRR), seed multiplication ratio (SMR), economics of seed production; determining seed needs, Seed pricing and price policy, seed processing and / packaging, demand forecasting and factors affecting demand for seeds, effect of price and farm income on seed demand. Biotechnology in Seed Technology: History of plant tissue culture, Laboratory organization, Composition of nutrient medium, Micro-propagation, Axillary bud proliferation approach, Meristem and shoot tip culture, Bud culture, Advantages of Micro-propagation, Problems associated with micro-propagation, Synthetic seed production, Types of synthetic seeds, methods of development of
synthetic seeds, Components of nutrient media for synthetic seed development, Storage of synthetic seeds, Advantages and limitations of synthetic seed production
Practical
Planning of seed production, requirements for different classes of seeds in field crops – unit area and rate. Operation and handling of mechanical drying equipment; effect of drying temperature
and duration on seed germination and storability seed processing equipment; seed treating equipment. Seed production in cross pollinated crops with special reference to land, isolation, Planting ratio of male and female lines, synchronization of parental lines and methods to achieve synchrony; supplementary pollination, pollen storage, hand emasculation and pollination in tomato, Hybrid seed production in Maize, detasseling in maize, identification of rogues and pollen shedders, Pollen collection, storage, viability and stigma receptivity; gametocide application and visits to seed production plots etc., Visit to seed processing plant and commercial controlled and uncontrolled seed stores, Seed industries and local entrepreneurships visit to nearby areas, Different
methods of examination of seeds to assess seed-borne microorganisms and to quantify infection percentage, detection of seed borne fungi, bacteria and viruses, identification of storage fungi, control of seed borne diseases, seed treatment methods., Maintenance of aseptic conditions and sterilization techniques, Preparation of nutrient stocks for synthetic media, Selection of explants for callus induction, Preparation of MS medium for micro-propagation and Callus induction, Selection of explants for callus induction, Preparation of MS medium for micro-propagation and Callus induction, Inoculation of explants for micro-propagation, Inoculation of explants for callus induction and subsequently regeneration of plantlets from matured seeds of field and horticultural crops, Synthetic seed preparation.