Studies on Policy Option for Quality Seed Production and ... - NFPCSP

8. Termite attack at seedling Insect-Termite Insecticide use 13stage9. Weed Weeds Weeding or weedicide use 1210. Low organic matter Decreasing no. of cattle, lack ofsupply of organic matter- Growing green manuring crop- Growing Mungbean611. Yellowing of leaf - Excess irrigation waterapplication- Fertilizer (low amount)- Making compost fertilizer- Land should not be undulated- Applied adequate amount ofwater.- Application of balancefertilizers12. Sterility Lack Boron fertilizer in soil Application of boron fertilizer 1413. White head Stem Borrer Attack is less 1114. Rodent attack Rodent Control needs 715. Bird attack after sowing Bird Keeping away bird 1616. Low price of wheat grainafter harvesting17. Lack of technical supportfrom DAE18. Lack of credit against seedstorage during September toOctoberNot knownNot knownFinancial crisis- Price support by Govt.- Govt. purchaseIncrease field visit by SAAOand othersSmall credit against seedstorage can provide by NGOLate sowing (late sowing after November reduces wheat yield), and unavailability of good quality seedswere also the important constrains ranked 3 rd and 4 th . Lack of credit facilities against seed storageranked 5 th and crop destroyed by rat ranked 6 th followed by lack of technical support. From the aboveanalysis, it is clear that the lower market price is the main constraint to wheat production.4.2.36 Seed quality of farmers’ homegrown wheat seedWithin the scope of the present study, the quality of collected seed samples was determined at thelaboratory of Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh and is presented in Table 4.2.36. Thequality parameters of farmers’ seed sample are described below:Seed moisture: The moisture content of wheat grain is a crucial factor for seed storage. From theresults it is observed that the moisture percentage of farmers` homegrown seed samples werestatistically significant at all the study sites. The moisture content of collected seed samples rangedfrom 13.1% to 15.5%, which were higher than that of standard level of wheat seed (12%). Highmoisture in seeds is the major single factor for loss of seed viability during storage. To minimize themetabolic degradation and to control mold growth, moisture content should ideally be less than 12% inwheat seed, whereas to control insect infestation, it should be even less than 9%. At 14% moisture,grains can be safely stored only for 2 to 3 months. For longer periods of storage from 4-12 months, themoisture content must be reduced to 13% or below. Boyd et al. (1975) reported that cereal seed reachesphysiological maturity with 35% to 45% of moisture content, but it needs to be dried down to safermoisture content for storage.Seed purity: Among the collected samples from the study areas, the seed purity was found to varygreatly in Rangpur. The average values of seed purity were 98.7%, 99.0% and 99.1% in Rajshahi,Dinajpur and Rangpur, respectively. On the other hand, it is known that the standard level of seedpurity for certified seed is 96%. This clearly demonstrates that the purity of farmers’ homegrown seed928679