PLANTING MATERIAL SELECTION

AND PREPARATION

- CROP PRODUCTION
Things to consider when selecting planting materials

 Most farmers fail not because of lack of effort or hard

work but because of poor selection of planting
materials.
Germination rate should be above 90% which simply
means for every 100 seedlings planted 90 seeds will
germinate. Ensure the planting materials are pure to
avoid getting products with off types since off types
products are not accepted in the market.
Seed Selection:

Some of the factors to be considered in seed selection :

 High Yield
 High Quality in Terms of Nutrient Composition and
Eating quality
 Resistant to Insect Pests and Diseases
 Adapted to the Local Conditions
 Genetically Pure.
The classes of seeds based on genetic purity

 Breeder seed 
 Foundation seed 
 Registered seed 
 Certified seed 
 Good seeds
 Unclassified seeds
Characteristic of a good seed

 High genetic purity

 High pure seed percentage ( physical purity)
 High germinability
 High vigour
 Higher field establishment
Characteristic of a good seed

 Free from pest and disease

 Good shape, size, colour etc., according to
the specification of variety
 High longevity / shelf life.
 Optimum moisture content for storage
 High market value
Seed growers are formed to handle the production of
certified into producer of registered seed and
producer of certified seeds. The Foundation Seed
Producers get their seeds from the Registered Seed
Growers.
Crops are also classified as self-pollinated only (1-
4% outcrossing) and cross pollinated (1-4% selfing).
 Rice, soybean, mungbean and peanut are
self-pollinated. Seed certification and seed
genetic purity maintenance is quite easy
compared to cross pollinated crops such as
corn.
 Varieties of open-pollinated corn and self-
pollinated rice and legumes maintained their
genetic purity through the classification cited
before while hybrid seeds are always bought
from seed companies which are producing them
in the F2 generation as it tends to deteriorate in
yield and quality because of genetic segregation
How to maintain varieties of self-pollinated crops

 Plant in isolation in the field.

 Practice rouging of off types
 Proper handling during harvesting,
threshing, cleaning and storage to avoid
mixture.
How to maintain varieties of pollinated corn

 Plant in isolated are (at least 200 meters away from

sufficient windbreaks).
 Practice mass selection in the field taking into
consideration that border plants around the side of
the field are excluded. In mass selection, consider
plant height (uniform also) and maturity as well as
sizes of ears.
 Practice proper handling in shelling, grading, drying
and storing to avoid mixture of other seeds.
Types of planning materials
1. Seed: all green crops, vegetable crops,
forage grasses, and legumes; fiber crops.
2. Vegetative materials:
 Stem cuttings – sugarcane, sweet potato,

cassava, forage grasses;

 Tubers – white potato
 Bulbs – multiplier onion, garlic;
 Corms – taro (gabi);
 Rhizomes – ramie, ginger.
Seed Storage

Seeds can lose viability in 3 to 12 months in

storage if improperly dried and handled. To
prolong viability, seeds should be stored dry
at 12 to 14% moisture content in airtight
containers like sealable cans, bottles, gunny
sacks lined with thick polyethylene plastic.
 Use of desiccants like dry charcoal or silica
gel placed inside containers will prevent
further moisture absorption by seeds.
Storage at refrigeration temperatures and
dehumidified conditions will prolong seed
viability.
 Properly dried but improperly stored seeds
will absorb moisture from ambient humid
air. This may trigger respiration and
enzymatic activities of the embryo and
gradual loss of viability of the seed at
storage.
Preparation of planting Materials and Seed Testing

In seed certification program before seeds are

labeled and tagged, the following testing are
done:
1. Moisture test
2. Purity test
 Pure seeds
 Other crop seeds
 Weed seeds Foreign matters
3. Germination test
 Ragdoll method
 Seedbox method
 Petri dish or filter paper method
 Tetrazolium test (TZ)
4. Seed vigor test
Poor seed germination are indicative of
either low vigor or seed dormancy. The
farmer must find out the age of the seeds in
storage. Newly harvested seeds indicate
seed dormancy and must be broken if the
farmer wants to use the seeds immediately
Rice and peanut seeds have dormancy
period. However, corn, sorghum, soybean
and mungbean have no dormancy period.
They can, therefore, be planted immediately
after harvest.
Dormancy refers to the length of time the seeds
are in resting period until germination. . However,
some seeds are dormant because of their
impermeable seed coat to entrance of water. In the
case of rice and peanut, the seeds coats are not
impermeable but they are merely in resting stage
or due to the presence of germination inhibitors.
Breaking the seed dormancy is usually done
by drying under the sun at 14% MC and
allows one month time in storage.
However, if the farmer wishes to use the
rice seeds right after harvest, break the
seed dormancy by:
 Soaking the seeds in hot water until the
water becomes cool. The hotness of water is
just enough that when one dips his hands
he can just withstand the heat of the water.
 Soak the seeds in water, then dry in the sun,
soak again and dry for 3 times.
 Use of potassium nitrate (KNO3) at specific
concentration. Soak the rice seeds for
sometimes then dry. One can ascertain that
seed dormancy is broken when the
germination percentage is from 85-95
percent. This is done by testing the seed
germination again.
THE END!!!