Seed production technology in leafy vegetables

1. By
TEJU C M
Topic :- Seed production technology of leafy vegetables

2. Amaranth
• Amaranthus tricolor(badi chauli)/ A. cruentus/ A. blitum(chotti chauli)
• Family- Amaranthaceae.
• Monoecious
• In India it is being cultivated throughout the year. This short duration crop is well suited for
crop rotation.
• Season –
• February – March as a summer crop and in
• June – July as rainy season crop
• Amaranth is a cross-pollinated crop. (wind/anemophily)
• Seeds are allowed to set by open pollination under isolation.

4. • Varieties - CO 1,2,3,4,5,, chotti chouli, badi chauli,pusa kiran ,
pusa kirti, pusa lal chauli.
• Seed rate –
• 1.5-2.5kg/ha for direct sowing and
• 1 kg/ha for transplanted crop.
• Seeds soaked in to overcome dormancy
• hot water (70o C) for one minute or in
• 200ppm ethrel for 12 hours.
• Seed treatment –
• Trichoderma viridae @ 4 gms/kg of seeds or
• Pseudomonas @ 10 gms/ kg of seeds
Upto 95%
germinatation
protect the crop from disease
causing microorganisms

5. Direct sowing - seeds mixed with fine sand and sown with 30 cm spacing b/w
the rows.
Seeds are mixed with fine sand and broadcasted uniformly on the beds @ 2
gms/sq.m in seed beds of size 2 x 1.5m
• After sowing the seeds are covered with a thin layer of sand or soil.
• The seedlings should be transplanted after 3 weeks.
• SPACING-
• 60–80 cm b/w rows ,40–50 cm b/w the plants.- TRANSPLANTING
• Sown in rows with rowto row spacing of 30cm. – Direct sowing.
Method of sowing

6. Nutrient management
• 20-25t/ha FYM at the time of land preparation
• Later on 100kg/ha Ammonium Sulphate is applied just
before irrigation between the rows.
• Irrigation 1st irrigation is done immediately after
sowing and the second irrigation is done 3 days after
sowing. After this, the field is irrigated once a week.
Irrigation during flowering and seed filling stages are
very critical.
• After 4 weeks of transplanting till flowering cut off the
apical buds to promote the secondary shoots

7. • Weed management Hoeing and weeding
should be done as and when it is needed.
The field should be maintained without
weeds and other contaminants.
• Cutting – for seed crop out of 6-7 cuttings
last one or two cuttings should be avoided.
• Pest and disease management Amaranth is
commonly affected by pests and disease like
weevil, aphids, yellow mosaic virus and
white rust.

8. •Roguing
• A minimum of 2 Roguing should be done.
• 1st – before flowering
• 2nd – after floweering
• The off-types and wild amaranthus sp. are to be rogued off.
• The maximum percentage of off-types permitted at the final
inspection is 0.10% for foundation seed production and
0.20% for certified seed production.
• The maximum percentage of objectionable weeds
permitted at the final inspection is 0.010% for foundation
seed production and 0.020% for certified seed production.

9. • Field inspection
• A minimum of 2 inspections
should be done from vegetative
stage to flowering stage by the
Seed Certification Officer.
• The 1st inspection is done before
flowering followed by the
• 2nd at flowering stage to
determine isolation, off-types,
volunteer plants and diseased
plants and to estimate the yield.

10. • Field standards
Foundation seed Certified seed
Isolation distance 400m 200m
Off-types 0.1% 0.2%
Objectionable weed seeds 0.01% 0.02%

11. • Harvesting
• Harvest at the physiological maturity stage in 25 days after
flowering.
• i.e. glomerule (flower head) change color from green to
brown and green to shiny black, respectively.
• Threshing and processing
• Harvested seed heads are dried under the sun light to attain
a moisture level of 15%.
• Using a pliable bamboo stick the glumes are beaten to shed
the seeds.
• The separated seeds are then cleaned to remove the debris.
• Winnowing is done .
• Seed yield – 2-3q/ha

12. • Seed standards
• minimum physical purity - 95% (both for foundation and
certified seeds)
• minimum germination capacity - 70%.
• The maximum moisture content - 8%.
• Maximum inert material allowance- 5%.

13. Palak (Spinach Beet)
• Beta vulgaris var. bengalensis L.
• Chenopodiaceae,
• 2n=18
• Origin: Indo-Chinese region
• Most common leafy vegetables of tropical and
sub tropical regions
• Rich and cheap source of vitamin A
• Leaves are mildly laxative

14. Botany
• Annual with tap root system.
• Pollen are very light
• Hence wind pollination/ anemophily is predominant.
• Flowers are small, bisexual, perfect, bracteate (leafy) and are
borne in axil of leaf in a group of 2-35,

16. Floral Biology
• Flowers are hermaphrodite
• Flower bud to bloom – 35 days,
• Anthesis peak period -between 11 A.M and 1P.M.
• Anther dehiscence - peak period between 12.30 and 2.30 P.M
• Stigma receptivity - 8 hrs. before anthesis, continues for another 10 hrs.
• Fruit is a seed ball / multigerm containing two to three seeds.
• Flowers produce abundant, small and light pollen grains which are carried by
wind leading to wind pollination.
• Hence the crop is highly cross pollinated.
• Isolation distance –
• 1600m for foundation
• 1000m for certified seed production.

17. • VARIEETIES- all green, jobner green, pusa palak, pusa jyoti, pusa
Bharati,.
• SEED RATE – 25-30kg/ha
• Spacing – 60cm between rows and 10-15cm between plants,
• Isolation distance –
• 1600m – foundation seeds
• 1000m for certified seed production.
• Nutrition –
• 20-25t/ha FYM at the time of land preparation,
• 60-75 : 60-70 : 60-70 kg/ha NPK is recommended.
• N applied in 2-3 split doses.
• ROUGING- 3 TIMES
• Before flowering, during flowering, at fruit development and maturity stage.

18. SELFING AND CROSSING
TECHNIQUES
Selfing
Entire plant or a few flowering branches are enclosed in a thick muslin
bag or preferably in a craft-paper bag. Bags must be shaken once or
twice daily and must not be opened on windy days.
Crossing
Emasculate the flowers before crossing.
During pollination, great care must be taken to avoid contamination
from foreign pollen by wind.
The bags covering the plants of the male and female parents should
not be opened on a windy day and pollination must be done when
the air is still, preferably in a glass house or plastic cage.

19. SEED PRODUCTION
• Palak is a more prolific seed producer, because of its hermaphrodite flowers.
• Maximum seed yield can be obtained at a spacing of 60cm x 20cm.
• Usually after taking 3 or 4 cuttings, the crop is left for seed production.
• Application of 20kg N/ha and one cutting gave maximum yield of good quality seeds.
• Since palak is a highly cross pollinated crop and readily crosses with Swiss chard , an isolation
distance of 1600m is recommended.

20. Palak crop generally takes 75 days after sowing for bolting and 150-180 days for seed
maturity.
• Seeds do not shed, hence the harvesting is done after full ripening of the whole crop.
• Dried plants are threshed by beating with sticks.
• Seeds are cleaned by winnowing and dried to 9% moisture before storage.
• Seed Yield: 600 -800kg/ha
• Diseases & Pests:
• Damping off- Captaf (more during early stage)
• Leaf spot – Blitox spray
• Leaf eating caterpillar– imidachloroprid spray.

21. Seed standards
TFL
PHYSICAL PURITY 98%
GENETIC PURITY 98%
GERMINATION % (min) 70%
Inert matter (max) 2%
Weed seeds (max) none
Other crop seeds (max) 10/kg

22. CORIANDER
• Coriandrum sativum L.,
• Family Umbelliferae.
• Seed production done in rabi season.
• Best sowing time for seed production is mid
October – mid November.
• Coriander is a cross-pollinated crop (self
pollination0 - 5%)
• Crosspollination is mainly through insects.
• Seeds should be allowed to set by cross-
pollination in isolation
• Isolation distance
200m - foundation and 100m

23. Botany
• Inflorosence is COMPOUND UMBEL
• Sex form- ANDROMONOECIOUS
• Flowers are small , white/pink in terminal umbels and are
PROTOANDROUS.
• Fruits are globular, yellow-brown, has 2 seeds , and are called
SCHIZOCARP.
• Anthesis- 5.30- 7.30 in the morning
• Pollen is fertile upto 14hrs after anthesis,
• Stigma is receptive 12hrs before and 6-7hrs after anthesis,.

25. • Varieties – Gujarat coriander-1 ,2, Rajendra swati, Rcr-47,swati,
sadhana,
• Isolation requirement-
• 200m – foundation seed production
• 100m – certified seed production.

26. Seed rate and
seed treatment
• Seed rate is 20 kg/ha.
• The selected seeds should be split
into two halves by rubbing before
sowing.----reduces seed requirement
by 50% and enhance germination %
• Seeds are soaked in 100ppm GA3 for
16 hrs of time . This will enhance
germination %, and vigour of the
plant.

27. CORIANDER SEEDS SPLIT

28. Sowing
• 30-40cm row to row spacing is maintained
• 15 cm between plant to plant, with soil depth not more than 3cm.
• 3-4 seeds sown per hill , where thinning should be done after to leave
only 2 plants per hill.
• Season of sowing
• June – July ( matures in august – sept)
• Sept – October (matures in jan – feb )

29. NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT
• 20-25t/ha FYM at the time of land preparation,
• 20 : 30 : 20 kg/ha of N:P:K at the time of sowing.
• For irrigated crop additional 40kg N in 2 split doses at 30th day ,and 75th day should be
given.(after sowing)

30. Weed management and Irrigation
• Weeding at regular intervals is very
important for the seed crop in the
earlier stages.
• In rainfed crop the first weeding is
done 25 – 30 days after sowing and
• In irrigated crop it is done in 40 – 45
days after sowing.
• Periodical removal of objectionable
weeds should be done.
• 1st irrigation - 3 days after sowing, and
frequent irrigations then after at
weekly intervals should be given.

31. Roughing
Minimum 3 rougings are required at ,before flowering,
50% flowering, and prior to harvesting,.
• Maximum percentage of offtypes permitted at the
final inspection is 0.10% for foundation seed
production and 0.50% for certified seed production.

32. Plant protection
• Diseases
• Powdery mildew( Erysiphae polygoni .)- 0.25% wettable Sulphur spray at 10 to
15 days interval
• Pest
• leaf eating caterpillar -during seedling stage and
• Aphids during flowering stage
0.05% methyl demeton
spray

33. Foundation seeds Certified seeds
isolation 200m 100m
offtypes 0.1% 0.5%
• Harvesting is done once the seeds are physiologically mature. The matured seeds will turn to
yellowish green and hard.
• YIELD- 300-400kg/ha – rainfed
500-600kg/ha --irrigated
• Seed extraction and processing The harvested plants are dried under the sun. After
drying the plants are threshed by hand and seeds are removed. The removed seeds are cleaned
further by winnowing.
• Drying and storage The extracted and cleaned seeds should be dried under the sun to attain a
moisture level of 10% before storage. Under suitable storage conditions the seeds can be stored for
about 3 years.

34. Seed standards
Minimum physical purity - 97%
Minimum germination % - 65%
Maximum moisture content - 10%.
Maximum Inert matter - 3.0%.
Seeds of other crops(max.)
10/kg – foundation seeds.
20/kg - certified seeds.

35. LETTUCE
• Lactuca sativa L.,
• Asteraceae
• Climatic Requirements: Lettuce
requires a relatively long cool (12
to 18 °C) growing season,
particularly cool nights and low
rainfall at harvest time.
• High temperatures are undesirable.
Heading is prevented and at this
temperature.
• Seed induced at temperatures
between 21 to 26 °C.
• Lettuce is susceptible to frost.

36. LETTUCE FLOWER

37. • Land Requirements: Land to be used for seed production shall be free
of volunteer plants. In addition, the soil of selected fields should be
well-drained, fertile and with high organic matter.
• Isolation Requirements:
• Lettuce is mainly self-pollinated,
• But 1-6% cross pollination due to insects has been reported.
• 50 metres - foundation seed
• 25 metres - certified seed.
• Cultural Practices: Time of Sowing : October
• Land preparation: Prepare the field to a fine tilth by ploughing and 3
to 4 harroings followed by levelling.
• Source of Seed: Obtain foundation seeds from source approved by a
seed certification agency.
• Seed Rate: Nursery sowing 0.5 to 0.75 kg/ha.

38. • Sowing and transplanting of Seeds:
• Seeds sown on raised nursery beds in rows 3 to 4 cm apart.
• Seedlings transplanted at a distance of 30 to 45 cm x 20 to 30 cm, when they are 5-6 weeks old.
• Fertilizers:
• Apply 20- 25 tons FYM, 125 kg of SSP at the time of soil preparation and 250 kg as top dressing in two
doses (early spring, and in May when the stalks emerge).
• Irrigation and Inter culture:
• Frequent hoeing and weeding is necessary for proper aeration of soil and to keep down the weeds.
• Water should be supplied to keep uniform moisture conditions in the soil.
• Drainage is essential as excess of soil moisture may cause rotting.
Field std Foundation seeds Certified seeds
Offtypes 0.1% 0.2%

39. • Rouging:
• Lettuce varieties fall in two groups namely, heading
types and loose leaf types.
• In 1st group there are: heading types
• cabbage head types having crisp leaves and head
cabbage type:
• Butter head types, having soft smooth leaves, usually do
not form the type of head typical of cabbage types, and
• cos types, having upright, cylindrical and rather thin
heads.
• The 2nd group (loose leaf types) is non-heading and
varieties differ in shapes and sizes.
• Rouging should be completed before bolting starts in
loose head varieties, or when heading is complete in
heading varieties.

40. Harvesting and
Threshing:
• Lettuce seeds ripen unevenly, and seeds
shatter readily.
• It is advisable to harvest when 30-50% of seeds
in the heads show white pappus or fluff .
• The plants are cut by hand and left to dry on
the ground for a few days.
• Later, the seeds are collected by gently
shaking them.

41. • Seed Yield: The leafy types usually produce 500 to 600 kg seed/ha.
However, the variety, great lakes(heading types), produces only 100
to 125 kg seed/ha.
Seed std.s foundation certified
Pure seed (minimum) 98% 98%
Inert matter (maximum) 2% 2%
Other crop seed
(maximum)
none none
Weed seeds (maximum) 5/kg 10/kg
Germination (maximum 70% 70%
Moisture 8% 8%
For vapour proof container
(maximum)
6% 6%

42. FENUGREEK
• Trigonella foenum graecum L.
• Leguminosae
• Soil: A rich well drained loamy soil is best suited.
• Climate: Cool and comparatively dry, frost free
climate
• Season: June - July and October - November.
• Seed rate: 12 kg/ha.
• Seed treatment: Azospirillum 1.5 kg +
Trichoderma viride @ 50 g/ha for 12 kg of seeds.
• Self pollinated crop.

43. Botany
• Fenugreek is a self pollinated and quick
growing crop
• Produces bright orange to yellow flowers.
• The pods are sickle shaped containing
small deeply furrowed seed.
• The flowers open between 6.00 and 9.00
am.
• The stigma becomes receptive 12 hour
before anthesis and
• anther dehisense- before the flower
actually opens.

45. Field preparation
and sowing
• Form beds and channels of 3.5 x 1.5 m.
• Broadcasting the seeds in seed bed and raking to
cover the seeds is commonly done.
• Seeds are sown at a spacing of 20 X 15
cm.(transplanting)
• Direct sowing –line sowing with spacing of 20cm
between the rows is maintained.
• Spray pre-emergence herbicide Fluchloralin 700
ml in 500 lit of water per ha.
• Varieties: Co 1, Pusa Early Bunching, Lam
selection 1, Rajendra Kranti,Hissar Sonali,
RMT1and CO 2

46. • Season –(sowing)
• Plains – September – November,
• Hills – march
• Manuring Basal:
• Apply 30:25:40 kg of N, P, K /ha.
• Top dressing: Apply 20 kg of N at 30 days after sowing.
• Irrigation: Give 1ST irrigation immediately after sowing, 2ND irrigation on
the third day and subsequently at 7 - 10 days intervals.
• Aftercultivation: Plants are thinned at 20 - 25 days after sowing. One
pinching at a height of about 4" will encourage branching. Weeding is
done as and when necessary.
• Rouging: The offtypes should be removed both at flowering and at
maturity stage. The plants of melilotus spp should also be removed from
the field prior to harvest.

47. • .
•Field standards
• Isolation distance-
• 10m-foundation seeds.
• 5m-certifation seeds.
• 50m- breeders seeds.
• Number of rougings needed-4
• Number of field inspections -2
factors Foundation seeds Certified seeds
Off-types (max. allowance) 0.1% 0.2%
Objectionable plants(max.) 0.01% 0.02%
Diseased plants 0.1% 0.5%

48. Harvest:
• Fenugreek seeds attained physiological maturity 45 days after anthesis
when the seed moisture content was around 20 per cent.
• Harvesting should be done when the lower leaves start shedding and the
pods have become yellowish.
• Harvesting should be done by cutting the plants with sickles.
• Delay in harvesting leads to shattering and lose of seeds.
• The harvested plants are tied in bundles and allowed to dry for 4-6 days.
• Threshing should be done on clean floor or tarpaulin.
• The seeds are separated by beating followed by winnowing or by the use
of mechanical threshers.

49. Plant
protection
• Root rot: Soil application of Neem cake @
150 kg/ha and Seed treatment with
Trichoderma viride @ 4 g/kg or drenching
with Carbendazim 0.5 g/l or Copper
oxychloride 2 g/litre or Trichoderma viride
@ 5 kg/ha.
• Powdery mildew: Dust Sulphur at 25 kg/ha
or foliar spray with wettable sulphur 2 g/lit
at the time of appearance of disease.

50.  Crop duration and harvest
• 20 - 25 days for greens.
• 90 - 100 days for grains.
• Yield.
• Grain yield: 1200 - 1500 kg/ha.

51. factors foundation certified
Physical purity(min) 98% 98%
Inert matter (maximum) 2% 2%
Other crop seed
(maximum) (no./kg)
5/kg 10/kg
Total weed seed
(maximum) (no./kg)
10/kg 20/kg
Germination(minimum) 70% 70%
Moisture (maximum)
(normal container)
8% 8%
For VP
Container(maximum)
6% 6%
Seed standards