SEED PRODUCTION AND PRESERVATION OF RICE Dr.

M Khairul Bashar

INTRODUCTION

Seed is an important and basic input in agriculture. Unlike other inputs, it is a living thing subject to genetic and other transformations and death. Therefore, seed production and preservation technology of any crop must have given special attention compare to the normal crop production.

After releasing a new variety there is a chain of seed production from breeder seed to the farmers seed. In Bangladesh, three categories of rice seed are generally classified based on the stages of seed multiplication. Those are:

Breeder Seed: Breeder seed or the vegetative propagating material produced by the breeder who developed the particular variety. It is produced by the institute where the variety was developed. Breeder seed is genetically pure. Foundation Seed: Foundation seed obtained from breeder seed by direct increase. Foundation seed is genetically pure and is the source of certified seed.

Certified Seed: Certified seed is produced from foundation. This group of seed is named as certified seed because it is supposed to be certified by Seed Certification Agency (SCA). However according to the new seed rules in Bangladesh Breeder Seed and Foundation Seed are also certified regularly by SCA.

Truthfully Labeled Seed (TLS): TLS seed is obtained from certified or foundation seed. The seed is must be maintained certain prescribed standard of seed role. The purity should be maintained at least 94%, germination should be 80% and seed moisture must be 12%.

The above classes of seed must have followed certain standards in the field as well as in the laboratory. The important sources of rice seed supply in Bangladesh are Farmer saved seed, neighboring farmers; local market and BADC. Out of total national demand, only 10% rice seed is supplied by BADC. So farmer saved seed is the major source of rice seed supply in Bangladesh.

Most of the farmers in Bangladesh, however, do not replace their seed and as a result quality of the farmer's seed deteriorates. But it is expected that under on-farm situations, the seed standard should be maintained at par or at least very close to certified seed level. As such there is a strong need to improve the quality of this farmers' saved seed so that productivity may increase.

TECHNIQUES & CRITERIAS FOR SEED PRODUCTION

Selection of Land: The land used should be uniform as much as possible, to allow the even development of plants. It is vital that the plants should not be subject to nutrient or water stress, which would prevent the full development of the plants, nor should the soil be too fertile, which would promote lush vegetative growth and disease. Selection of Variety: Selection of proper variety for appropriate season is necessary for successful seed production.

Land Preparation: Proper Land preparation is necessary for good seed yield. Ploughing: The land should thoroughly be ploughed 3-4 times followed by laddering to make the land uniform level.

Timing of Seed Sowing: Aus: April, T. Aman: Late June to Early July Boro: Mid November to Early December. Seedlings are transplanted usually at about 30 days old in T. Aman, 40 days old in Boro and 25 days old in Aus. Usually single seedling per hill or plant is used for seed production. Correct timing is crucial for the plants to develop properly so that their morphological characters may fully be expressed.

Sowing & transplanting

Lay out of Seed Plot for Breeder Seed

Panicle to row system Single seedling per hill or plant A gap between every six row Isolation distance from other varieties

Fertilizer: The standard full dressing required is 80/60/40 kg NPK/ha for Boro and T. Aman, and for Aus is 60:40:40 kg NPK/ha. Gypsum and ZnS04 should be applied @ 100 kg and 10 kg per ha. All the P, K, S and Zn to be applied during final land preparation. Top dressing: Nitrogen is splitted usually into three dressings: 7-12 days after transplanting, during maximum tillering time and 5-7 days before panicle initiation stages, respectively.

Irrigation: T. Aman crops are normally rainfed but may need supplementary irrigation. Boro crops are entirely irrigated. Irrigation water should be applied at 2-3cm depth 3 days after transplanting. Too much water after transplanting will reduce the tillering ability of rice plants. Water depth should be increased during late vegetative and reproductive stage and gradually water should be withdrawn 2 weeks before harvest.

Weeding: The crop is normally weeded 3-4 times, including after the top dressing has been applied, to reduce weeds and incorporate fertilizer. Pesticides: Insecticides are applied if pest infestation is high, but normally no fungicides are used. Plants seriously affected by diseases are pulled out.

Field Observations: Field observations should be made over the whole growing season to monitor the crop condition under field situation. Plants must be observed in a detailed and systematic way. Most frequent observations are to be made during the period of panicle emergence to early seed development.

Roguing: Roguing is the removal of off-types, undesirable plants or mixtures. Roguing can be done at any time of the crop stage. Usually this operation should be done from vegetative to maturity stages to see that all possible mixtures are removed before harvesting. Varietal mixture should be removed on time because it will be very difficult when the rice plants lodged particularly in wet seasons. Off-types should be cut up to the root system. This is one of the most important operations in the production of seeds to maintain varietal purity.

Identifying characteristics of off-types: Off-types can be identified by observing the following characteristics of plants: Plant height:- Plants taller and shorter than most of the plants in plot are off- types. Colour of leaves, sheaths, and straws:- Plants that exhibit colours other than the dominant ones are off-types. Panicle exertion:- Plants with earlier or later panicle emergence are off-types. Angle of flag leaf- if erect flag leaf is dominant then horizontal and droopy leaves are off-types.

Presence or absence of awns- if the majority of the plants are with awns, and then those without awns are off-types. However, individual seeds in the panicle should be carefully examined because in some cases grains in a panicle could be with or without awns. Size, shape, and color of grains- if most of the panicles have long grains, and then those with medium grains are off-types. If slender grains are dominant, then bold grains are off-types. Some varieties differ in the colour of grains (straw, brown, golden. etc.)

Roguing should be done during post emergence, vegetative growth, flowering, post flowering and pre-harvest times. The best time for rouging is at flowering. However, off-types should be rogued out immediately, when those are identified. Besides, all weeds should be removed to ensure that no weed seed is mixed with the rice seeds. Sources of off-types are volunteer plants from previous crop, natural out- crossing, mutation, minor genetic variation, developmental variation, and mechanical mixtures.

Harvesting & threshing: Harvesting of seed field should be done timely to prevent crop losses and deterioration in seed quality. The optimum time for harvesting is when 80% grains are ripened. Two methods are usually practicing for Harvesting of Rice Seed Individual plant selections Selection of part of standing crop as seed

Incase of individual plant selections the selected plants should be harvested first and remove from the field and then the rest of the field should be harvested. Incase of selection of part of standing crop as seed, the part of the field to be used as grain should be harvested first and then the part to be used as seed should be harvested. The harvested plants/ produce should be dried properly to prevent deterioration.

The selected plants / produce from reserved area should be kept separately to prevent mixing. The threshing floor should be cleaned thoroughly before threshing to avoid mixtures. The selected plants/ produce should be threshed carefully to avoid mechanical damage to seed. The seeds should be cleaned properly to remove chaff, leaves, stones etc., as a measure of preliminary cleaning.

Drying: Drying of seed immediately after threshing is a must in seed production. One or two days seed storage without drying may spoil or damage the seeds. This may result in discolored seeds and possibly affect the viability and vigour of the seeds. Drying can be done by using artificial drier particularly during the Boro/Aus season and also by sun drying during T. Aman.

Seed Cleaning and Grading: Dried seeds (less than12% moisture content) should be cleaned by using blowers or seed cleaner to remove empty, light and diseased seeds, weed seeds, soil particles and other plant parts. The cleaned seeds are then temporally placed in clean sacks. Seed preservation: Seed is usually preserved or stored for the period between seed harvest and planting of next crop. Seed usually deteriorates and loose generation and physical quality during storage. By providing proper storage condition and good management, the rate of loss of generation and physical quality can be minimized.

Factors influencing quality of seed in storage are moisture, temperature, and quality of seed at time of storage, storage fungi and insects, rodents and birds. Moisture and temperature are the two most important factors affecting the quality of seed. Seed stored at high moisture are more likely to be damaged from high temperature, mechanical damage, storage fungi and insects.

The following steps should be adopted for safe storage: Store dried seed properly. Store healthy, undamaged, fully matured seed with high generation. Store seed under dry and cool conditions. Store seed in stores free from leak and dampness. Clean the store properly before storage of seed. Maintain cleanliness in and around seed store. Do not store seed bags on floor but on wooden planks. Seed bags should not touch the wall. Control insects and rats in store.

Type of containers used for packing depends on Quantity of seed to be packed, cost of containers, and availability of packing containers, storage conditions and moisture percentage of seed of container. Commonly used containers are drums and tins, gunny bags, gunny bags lined with polyethylene, Plastic containers and earthen pots. Seed may stored in controlled conditions if possible with low relative humidity and low temperature

Precautions to be taken during storage

Pack only thoroughly dried seed in clean containers. Otherwise, damage to the seed will be very fast. Biting test of seed is a commonly used and reliable method for checking the drying of seed. The seed moisture content should be below 12% for preservation. Close the containers properly after packing the seed. Check stored seed often for insect attack during storage. Dry the seeds again before packing in containers. Open containers for checking only on a clean and sunny day.

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