Impact of breeder seed multiplication and certified quality seed distribution on rice production in India

Abstract

Background The All India Coordinated Rice Improvement Project (AICRIP) organizes multi-location tests (METs) with new genotypes from breeding programs. The best performing genotypes in METs for 3–4 years are identified and notified as commercial cultivars by the Government of India (GOI) to authorize breeder seed (BS) production. Methods We created a database and analyzed data on BS production for 24 years (1995–96 to 2018–19) in 475 inbred and 22 F1 hybrid cultivars. Estimates were made to rank cultivars on the proportional contribution of a cultivar, quantity produced and a new BS index. Correlation and regression analyses were used to find the relationships between BS, certified quality seed distributed (CQSD), and milled rice production. We compared cultivars in BS production chain with those grown in farmers’ fields across the country as identified in the production-oriented surveys. Results The top ten inbred cultivars identified are Jaya (notified by GOI in 1969), Swarna, Kranthi, IR 36, Sarjoo 52, Samba Mahsuri and Pusa Basmati 1 (notified in 1980–1989), and IR 64, Vijetha and Cottondora Sannalu (notified in 1991–2000). BS production in hybrid F1 was insignificant. We detected a Pearson correlation (r = 0.806, P < 0.01) between the BS production and CQSD, and a linear relationship between the annual rice production in India and the CQSD (R2 = 0.850, P < 0.01). The rice area coverage in 2018–19 with CQSD estimated was 41%. A total of 1877 cultivars (528 notified and 1349 not notified) were found at farms in rice growing districts in India. Conclusions From 1995–2019, BS and CQSD together increased the annual milled rice production in step with increases in population. Diverse rice genotypes have enabled rice to endure crop constraints in fragmented landholdings spread over 43 m ha. AICRIP’s efforts have sustained availability of > 73 kg rice per capita per year (~ 40% of food grains). The process of notification, receipt of indent for BS from states, allotment and BS production, and de-notification of a cultivar by GOI need a review to ensure profits to farmers. As the 1000-seed weight varies in cultivars, it must be notified by GOI to adjust seed rate and maintain the recommended plant population at the farms. There is scope to increase the priceless BS production in cultivars to raise the country’s production further, facilitate export and ensure profits to all stakeholders.

Twenty-four years lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) breeder seed production in India: a retrospective study

“…Breeder seed production is vital for maintaining the long-term seed chain and is the prime responsibility of public sector institutions and agencies ( Vishnu et al., 2013 ; Prasad et al., 2022 ). The Indian seed program recognizes three generation system: breeder, foundation, and certified seeds.…”

“…The present study observed that BS indent has reduced by 85.58% from 1998–1999 to 2021–2022. However, increasing trends of BS demand have been reported in food crops like wheat ( Krishna et al., 2016 ), rice ( Prasad et al., 2022 ), barley ( Vishnu et al., 2013 ), and pulses ( Parihar and Dixit, 2016 ). There might be few probable but imperative reasons that could explain the declining lucerne BS demand in the country such as (1) shifting of cultivated lucerne area into different fodder crops, (2) disparity in BS production and demand, (3) unrealistic and extremely high BS demand by the indenters, (4) extensive efforts of private seed companies in seed production and direct selling to the farmers, and (5) presence of the unorganized seed sector.…”

“…The development and deployment of high-yielding and stable varieties are the need of the hour to increase the production and productivity of any crop, and VRR is an indicator of the dissemination of genetic progress. ( Singh et al., 2020 ; Chauhan et al., 2021 ; Prasad et al., 2022 ). In the present study, the contribution of recently released and notified lucerne varieties (<5 years old) is moderate, and the contribution of old varieties (>15 years old) is very high in the last 3 years (2019–2020 to 2021–2022).…”

“…The present study observed that BS indent has reduced by 85.58% from 1998-1999 to 2021-2022. However, increasing trends of BS demand have been reported in food crops like wheat (Krishna et al, 2016), rice (Prasad et al, 2022), barley (Vishnu et al, 2013), and pulses (Parihar and Dixit, 2016). There might be few probable but imperative reasons that could explain the declining lucerne BS demand in the country such as (1) shifting of cultivated lucerne area into different fodder crops,…”

Testing of sprouting, genetic diversity and heritability of some local gogo rice cultivers

“…Efforts to develop upland rice are faced with the problem of providing good quality seeds. Testing the quality and quality of seeds is very important because these tests can assure farmers that to avoid losses incurred during cultivation [4][5][6].…”