Seed is the basic and most vital input of agriculture and food security. The seed industry is the cornerstone of global food security; food security depends on seed securityBut seed industries are facing a basket of emerging problems has narrowed down the smooth pursuance of enhanced productivity and quality. Among these, the burning issue of climate change and its possible consequences on agricultural production has received importance late, but the problem is very real. So, Climate change presents a profound challenge to food security and development.

1. Climate Change:
Seed Production and Options for Adaptation
in Bangladesh
Prepared By
Fatima Zannath Mete
Executive Officer
Department of Vegetable Seed Production
Lal Teer Seed Limited

2.  With every sunrise, the world is being challenged to
produce adequate food for its ever-growing population.
 Seed is the basic and most vital input of agriculture and
food security.
 The seed industry is the cornerstone of global food security;
food security depends on seed security.
They must be able to continue to deliver the quantities of
quality seed required for this purpose.

3.  But seed industries are facing a basket of emerging
problems has narrowed down the smooth pursuance of
enhanced productivity and quality.
Among these, the burning issue of climate change and its
possible consequences on agricultural production has
received importance late, but the problem is very real.
 So, Climate change presents a profound challenge to food
security and development.

4. Weather: It refers to current activity (day to day update) of
temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, winds, rainfall,
precipitation and numerous other meteorological elements in a
given region.
 Climate: It is the average weather in a place over many years.
While the weather can change in just a few hours, climate takes
hundreds, thousands, even millions of years to change. .
 Environment: It is sum total of physical, chemical, biological and
social components and process which make up the surroundings
which simply indicates “Where we live”.

5.  Ecology: The relationships between organisms and their
environment
 Pollution: It is undesirable change in the physical, chemical or
biological characteristics of air, water, and land that can harmfully
affect the living beings
 Global Warming: It is generally mean a gradual increase in the
overall temp. & weather events variability due to generally man-
made increased levels of CO2, CFCs, N2O and CH4, water vapor/
other pollutants of the earth’s atmosphere.

6.  Adaptation: It means anticipating the adverse effects of CC and
taking appropriate action to prevent or minimize the damage they
can cause.
 Mitigation: A human intervention or Technological change and
substitution to reduce the sources or enhance the sinks of Green
House Gases (GHG).
 Food security: Food security exists when all people at all times
have physical or economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious
food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active
and healthy life.

7.  Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the
statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging
from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average
weather conditions or in the distribution of weather around the
average conditions (i.e., more or fewer extreme weather events).
Climate change is caused by factors such as biotic processes,
variations in solar radiation received by Earth, plate tectonic and
volcanic eruptions Certain human activities have been identified as
primary causes of ongoing climate change, often referred to as
global warming.

8. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable country
because of its:
 Geographical location
 Flat and low laying topography
 High population density
 Reliance of many livelihoods on climate sensitive sectors,
like agriculture, fisheries, industry etc.

10.  To know clearly the impacts of climate change
 To Build or enhance systems for conveying climate information
 To ensure quality seeds
 To make awareness to the root (farmers) levels
Nevertheless, many regions of this country remain outside the ambit
of climate change related actions. Contextual analysis suggests that
unless urgent actions are taken, climate change will undermine
efforts to ensure the food security of the region.

11.  Review Papers
 Various relevant books & Journals
 Online sources
 Knowledge gathered from training on “Climate Change
Issues and Its Adaptation” arranged by BARD

12. Agriculture & Food security
Human Health
Animal Health
Water resources
Fisheries
Infrastructure and personal property
Wild life and biodiversity
Forestry

13. Increased frequency and severity of -
Flood
Drought
Storms
Increase heat
Changes in seasons
Changes of rainfall pattern
Changes in water quality and quantity
Soil erosion, Reduce soil fertility
Sea level raise
Glacial melt

14.  Seed is the basic and most vital input of agriculture.
 Without high quality seed, other inputs and better technologies
remain worthless.
At adverse field conditions, good quality seeds along with
recommended doses of other inputs provide uniform and rapid
germination, healthy crop establishment and subsequently good
crop harvest.

16.  To obtain high-quality seeds, they have to pass through several
well-defined sequential steps:
1. timely sowing with required inputs in the field
2. good and uniform germination
3. development of flower primordial, pollen and egg
4. pollination followed by double fertilization,
5. embryo formation and endosperm development
6. seed maturation and timely harvest
7. seed processing, transportation, storage and handling until next
sowing.

17.  Crop Growth Periods:
a. Changes the sowing time for untimed rainfall
b. Kharif-1 and Khrif-2 season are affected by delayed or early onset
of monsoon, droughts and floods, excess temperature,
c. Rabi crop is relatively more risky due to shortened crop growth
periods and increased terminal heat and water stress.
 Germination:
a. High temperature results low germination rate.
b. Seed dormancy has been naturally modified
c. promotes germination at an undesirable time like spring to autumn.

18.  Plant Reproductive Processes:
a. Changes of sexual reproductive phase
b. reduce seed set and therefore seed yield for both elevated CO2 and
temperature.
 Flowering Time:
a. early or delayed flowering for Heat stress
b. cause asynchrony between male and female reproductive
development leading to problems for hybrid seed production
c. reduce pollination system and stigmas receptive to pollen and
pollen tube.

19.  Floral Organs:
a. reduce flower number per plant.
b. Heat stress can reduce the number, decrease the size, and cause
deformity of floral organs,
c. Pollen sterility and reduction of seed set and size.
 Pollen:
a. heat stress has negative effects on pollen viability, pollen
germination, pollen tube growth rate
b. hastens anthesis and maturity of crop leading to reduced seed set.

20.  Pollinators:
a. climate change is a threat to pollination services.
b. Changes in nectar production and/or composition reduce the
interactions of flowers and their pollinators.
 Insect and Pest:
a. new seed-borne diseases, Insects at seedling stage.
b. negative effects on seed storage condition.

22.  Genetic Purity of Cultivars:
a. critically loss of genetic quality in open pollinated and F1 hybrid
cultivars.
b. Elevated CO2 and temperature changes in the sexuality in crops
plants, including a breakdown in self-incompatibility or male
sterility mechanisms.
c. Hampers in breeding systems of many open pollinated crops or
to F1 hybrid seed production

23.  Seed Yield:
a. Increased temperature and moisture stress effects on seed yield
and quality.
 Seed Mass:
a. Seed mass decreased by seed nitrogen concentration in non-
legumes.
b. reduces anthesis and seed development time ultimately reducing
seed mass.

25.  Seed Vigor: High temperatures induce the physiological
deterioration of seeds both before and after maturity.
 Physiological & Biological Changes:
a. Temperature irregularity resulting in physiological abnormalities
like seed quality, viability, germination, dormancy, seed-coat
permeability and storability .
b. changes plant metabolism and organ development, respiration,
and source-sink relationships.

26.  Post Harvest:
a. Seed losses as a result of poor drying and storage
b. Hampers drying method, storage conditions.
c. In countries where sun drying of seed is practiced, elevated
ambient temperatures will increase the risk of rapid seed quality
deterioration which tend to reduce seed storage life and
imbalance of equilibrium moisture content.

27.  Storage Ability:
a. Seeds are hygroscopic resulting extra air and water relation
b. Seed storage life is generally doubled by every 5 _C decrease in
storage temperature but day by day temperature is increasing.
 Lower Market Value:
a. Weather stress ultimately reduces of seed set, size and uniform
shape caused problems during seed processing.
b. However, those are reflects on seed quality characteristics, which
is directly related to lower market value and poor farm economy.

29. Moving Sites for Seed Production: Heavy rains delay normal
October sowing, pushing it up to December. Because of late
sowing, crop growth period coincides with the occurrence of
insect-pests and diseases. Improvement in microclimate around
seeds may eliminate or curtail the risk of damage due to possible
climatic calamities in field conditions

30. Changing Sowing Date: Changing sowing date to avoid the
detrimental effects of high temperatures at flowering and during
seed set has been recommended as an adaptation strategy for
climate change. A shift in sowing dates (e.g., earlier sowing of
spring crops to avoid hot and dry periods during summer) is one of
the expected adaptation responses to climate change.
 Crop Calendar: Follow Crop Calendar and agronomic research
to change sowing date to reduce yield loss. Traditional knowledge
would be an essential element in case of local adaptive capacity

31. Crop Season July August September October November December January February March April May June
Rabi Season Khrif-1 Khrif 2
1 July to 15 Oct 16 Oct to 15 March 16 March to 30 June
Yard Long Bean Khrif-1 25th Jan to 28th Feb
Okra Khrif-1 March to April
Leafy Amaranth Khrif-1 Feb
Stem Amaramth Khrif-1 Feb
Bitter Gourd Khrif-1 Feb
Sponge Gourd Khrif-1 Feb to Mar
Snake Gourd Khrif-1 Feb to Mar
Ridge Gourd Khrif-1 Mid Feb to Mid Mar
Cucumber Khrif-1 Feb to Mar
Papaya Khrif-1 Jan to Feb
Wsk Gourd Khrif-1 Dec to Jan
Leafy Amaranth Khrif-2 Aug
Hyacinth Bean Khrif-2 Mid Aug to Mid Sep
Indian Spinach Khrif-2 Sep to Oct
Gima Kolmi Khrif-2 July
Jute Khrif-2 15 Aug to 15 Sep
Mustard Rabi Mid Oct to Mid Nov
Califlower Rabi 1st week
Radis Rabi 15th to 25th
Brinjal Rabi Aug to Sep
Brinjal F1 Rabi 15 th Sep to 15th Oct
Tomato Rabi Oct to Nov
Chilli Rabi 1st week to 15th Oct
Onion Rabi 15 to 30 Nov
Coriander Rabi Nov to Mid Dec
Spinach Rabi Sep to Mid Oct
Pumpkin Rabi Oct to Dec
Bottle Gourd F1 Rabi Oct

32. Plant Breeding: Novel breeding approaches for high germinable
varieties and hybrids displaying photo and thermo-insensitive
nature, with high concentration of advantageous chemical
components (sugars, protein, lipids and others) and enzymes will
further widen the way to combat against climate change. This can
be achieved using a combination of conventional, molecular and
transgenic approaches.
C/N Ratio: To survive in this changing environment, C3/C4
balance is changing with time in several ecosystems worldwide. A
strong research should be need to approach.

33. Seed coating: Thermos table polymer augmented with pesticides
and growth supplements (e.g. PGRs, etc.) is a promising option in
high-value crops to cope with harsh field conditions.
Retaining Soil Moisture: High amount of moisture in the soil for
easy germination of seeds is an alternative to cope with changing
soil–moisture pattern. Use techniques for harvesting rain water.
Seed Hardening: To withstand low soil–moisture condition in the
field, seed hardening, i.e. alternate wetting and drying of seeds
under artificial condition is to be practiced for sensitive crops.

34. Weather Forecast: To take day to day weather forecasting can
reduce the yield loss. In adverse condition let the farmers to know
about weather condition (like coming rain or wind storm or heat
stress) and suggest them as necessary what you think as likely:
• Flash flood irrigation for heat stress and drought condition
• Fixed trellis tight or take other option for wind storm
• Collect mature fruit day to day to reduce yield loss from erratic
rain
web links:
http://www.accuweather.com/en/bd/chuadanga/28967/hourly-
weather-forecast/28967
https://www.wunderground.com/bd/chuadanga
So please take area/ district wise weather report and also observed it
personally.

35. Seed Drying Process: Excess heat damage can be mitigated by
shading the seed from direct radiation from the sun during the
drying process.
Seed Systems: The ability for seed growers to make the
adaptations required resulting from climate change is directly
linked to the seed system within a country. If Farmers’ have access
to quality seed of a diverse range of adapted cultivars, a good
quality seed distribution from company, adequate seed policies and
seed price then they give feedback by giving sufficient yield with
good quality. So, we should pay attention of our existing seed
business system.

36.  Climate change is reality.
 Seed production system is likely suffer due to excess heat, erratic
weather and water stress
 Adaption strategies can help minimize negative impacts
 These need funding, research and policy support
 It is not only our issues but also global problem.
 So, we should make our world green and ensure food security for
next generations

37. Make Your Opportunities & Work Together
For
Green World
Thanks to All