Special Officer (Seeds), UAS, Dharwad.

Silver Jubilee Year

25 Years Logo encircled with seeds

Message from Special Officer (Seeds), UAS, Dharwad.

Seeds are crucial for agriculture, impacting both biology and economy. With global agriculture struggling to meet food demands due to climate change and resource decline, quality seed production is essential. The University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Dharwad, Karnataka, has made significant strides in seed production, focusing on cost-effective seeds for a variety of crops including groundnut, soybean, chickpea, wheat, paddy, greengram, blackgram and millets. The advanced facilities support the production of breeder seeds for over 65 varieties and contribute 10-12% of national breeder seed output. The innovative “Dharwad Model” involves local farmers in seed production through a unique contractual scheme. UAS Dharwad’s partnerships and leadership have been recognized nationally, leading to several awards.

I gratefully acknowledge the dynamic leadership of all the Vice-Chancellors of UAS, Dharwad for supporting the seed unit. I also acknowledge the sincere efforts of all the previous Special Officers and other staff members towards significant achievement of the seed unit. With this successful seed journey, we have reached “Silver Jubilee Year”, and to mark this achievement, we are launching the website to document Seed Unit’s achievements and future goals in quality seed production. I profusely thank and acknowledge the constant encouragement and kind support by our Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor Dr. P. L. Patil towards seed unit activities.

 Seed Unit Journey Towards Seed Security

1.      Introduction

2.      Faculty/ Working staff

3.      Seed production

a.       Planning and Implementation

b.      Programme monitoring

c.       Nucleus seed production/ Maintenance breeding

d.      Breeder Seed production

e.       Foundation seed production

f.       Certified/ TL seed production

4.      Production of seed/planting material of horticultural crops

5.      Farmers participatory seed production

6.      Extension Activities related to quality seed production

7.      Infrastructure/ Facilities available                                       (AI assistant to search info)

a.       Developed under revolving fund                       ( AI chat boat)         

b.      Developed under seed hub                                     with picture of grain

c.       Seed Testing and Molecular laboratory establishment

8.      Projects operated at Seed unit

a.       Institutional projects

b.      Adhoc projects

9.      Seed Technology Research

10.     Significant achievements

11.     Awards

12.     MoU

13.     Future vision

14.     Contact us:

Seed unit, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, Ettinagudda Campus, Dharwad

Phone No. 0836-2441884, E-mail ID: soseed@uasd.in

Google Map location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/8dmDjEWmDW3xuvEv7

1.      Introduction:

Quality seeds are crucial for agricultural productivity, but despite a strong institutional framework, farmers often rely on farm-saved seeds due to insufficient availability of high-quality seeds. The University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) Dharwad has developed popular crop varieties and hybrids that have reached beyond state and national borders. Improved varieties and hybrids developed by other public institutes like BARC, JNKVV, ANGRAU, IIHR, DOGR have also been adopted in the state for the benefit of the farmers.

 

Revitalizing the seed sector through better public seed agencies and regional capabilities is essential, as land expansion is limited. Quality seeds can boost yields by 15-20% and up to 45% with optimal management. Since the 1960s, high-yielding varieties have underpinned modern seed programs in India, supported by initiatives like the National Seed Project and ICAR.

 

UAS Dharwad, started its separate independent Seed Unit at university head quarter in 1999 with Special officer (Seeds) as administrative head and 12 Agricultural Research Stations were recognized as seed farms and brought under administrative control of Special officer for seed production of different crops. Covering 28% of Karnataka’s area and 27% of its cultivable land, the university addresses diverse agricultural needs through research stations and also contibuted over 200 improved varieties and hybrids.

Improved crop varieties/hybrids released from UAS, Dharwad

Sl. No.	Group of crops	Number of varieties/hybrids released
1.	Cereals and millets	64
2.	Oilseeds	31
3.	Pulses	32
4.	Commercial crops	36
5.	Fodder crops	14
6.	Horticultural crops	33
	Total	210

MANDATES:

• To produce breeder seed as per national requirement and augment quality seed production among agricultural crops in the country.
• To conduct, coordinate and monitor research on different aspects of seed science and technology.
• Qualitative and quantitative enhancement in seed production capabilities of institutions under NARS.
• Capacity building among various stake holders on seed production, processing, storage & packaging, quality control and seed health.
• To establish linkages with Crop Improvement Projects, Seed Industry, Seed Regulatory Agencies, NGOs, KVKs etc.

SEED PRODUCTION

Planning and implementation

Seed production and planting material production programmes of all the crops are being planned on the basis of indent received from public sector agencies (National & State), Co-operatives, NGOs, private sector, FPOs etc.

For planning the production programme, action plan meeting will be convened during the month of May and September of every year inviting all the Farm Superintendents / Scientists of Seed Farms and Agricultural Research Stations, Crop Co-ordinators and other officers who are involved in the seed production programme.

Programme monitoring

The seed production activities and the multiplication of planting materials are overseen by the Special Officer (Seeds) to ensure the program runs smoothly. Mid-season adjustments are made based on the Special Officer’s guidance. This integrated system handles planning, production, monitoring, processing, and marketing through a single-window system managed by the Special Officer (Seeds). Located at the main campus in Dharwad, the Seed Unit serves as the program’s central hub. Breeder seeds are distributed based on indents, with any surplus offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Foundation seeds are supplied to private seed companies and other agencies and certified seeds are provided to farmers through the university’s seed counters.

Maintenance Breeding:

UAS Dharwad prioritizes genetic purity.  Seed Unit has a Centralized Maintenance Block for producing nucleus seeds with the highest genetic purity. This involves selecting progenies that meet all varietal characteristics and using their seeds for breeder seed production. This process ensures a reliable supply of high-quality seeds for cultivation.

Nucleus seed production:

Nucleus seed is fundamental for maintaining genetic purity in plant breeding. Produced under strict supervision by crop breeders, it ensures the highest quality and integrity of breeder seeds. The progeny bulk from maintenance breeding programs is used to produce nucleus seed. For high-volume seed crops, additional stages of nucleus seed multiplication may be implemented to meet the required quantity.

At UAS Dharwad, Centralized Maintenance Breeding in 18-acre area at D Block has significantly increased nucleus seed production from 51.67q in 2013-14 to 489.9q in 2023-24. This initiative, praised by the QRT team of AICRP NSP (Crops) review team in 2021, signifying the higher indents for breeder seed production.

Crops	Quantity of nucleus seed produced (q.)
	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24
Cereals	13.32	19.30	18.4	24.05	12.72	13.99	14.14	17.13	19.72	26.43	26.73
Pulses	1.89	2.13	2.31	1.65	1.55	1.74	3.36	4.9	6.9	5.9	16.0
Oilseeds	36.46	23.29	0.0	26.22	60.78	54.36	39.95	274.81	393.63	426.04	447.13
Fibre crops	0.00	0.81	0.31	0.27	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.02	0.04	0.04	0.04
Total	51.67	45.53	21.02	52.19	75.05	70.09	57.45	296.86	420.29	458.4	489.9

Breeder seed production:

Breeder seed is vital for producing quality seeds, influencing all subsequent stages of seed multiplication. At the Seed Unit, breeder seeds of 71 varieties/hybrids across 15 crops are being produced which account for 10-12% of the country’s total breeder seed production.

Meeting the demand for high-volume, low-cost seed crops like soybean, groundnut, wheat, bengalgram, and paddy requires strategic approaches and innovative techniques. Crop breeders or sponsored breeders must produce and supply breeder seed to indenting agencies using nucleus seed material. UAS Dharwad, a major public institute, produces and supplies breeder seeds of various field and horticultural crops to meet state and national demands. Since 2000-01, breeder seed production has increased significantly, helping the university to achieve 2nd place nationwide in breeder seed production.

Crops	Quantity of breeder seed produced (q.)
	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24
Cereals	350.5	95.0	66.99	96.5	175.9	244.8	185.0	310.9	256.6	288.55	345.4
Pulses	654.5	275.7	473.91	716.9	731.3	1346.0	892.0	686	583	942	1250
Oilseeds	12103.2	7074.0	6805.78	6848.2	3216.7	4770.0	3500.0	4657.75	6068.55	6511.05	6754.25
Fiber crops	1.50	0.0	0.00	0.04	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.03	0.03	0.03	0.03
Total	13109.7	7444.7	7346.68	7661.7	4124.0	6360.8	4577.0	5654.68	6908.18	7741.63	8349.68

Foundation seed production:

UAS Dharwad is a pioneer in providing seeds of various varieties and hybrids to public and private sector agencies. These varieties and hybrids are popular in other states as well, foundation seed production of parental lines is planned based on demand from different seed-producing agencies.

 

Foundation seeds of economically important crops like maize, bajra, sorghum, paddy, wheat, Bengal gram, groundnut, pigeonpea, and soybean are produced and distributed to various stakeholders. Over the years, foundation seed production has become a key activity, significantly enhancing total production.

 

 

 Certified/Truthfully labeled seed production

Recently released varieties/hybrids take more time to reach the farmer’s fields because of prolonged seed production formalities and several failures in seed production chain.  In order to hasten the process of new varieties/hybrids reaching the farmers, Certified/TL seed production has been taken up on contractual mode on large scale under Seed Village concept through farmers participatory seed production programmes with registered seed growers. 

 

Production of seed/planting material of horticultural crops

Realizing the importance of production and supply of seeds/planting material of different horticultural crops, the University started the production programme of these materials in large scale.  Under this programme the University is producing the seeds of different vegetables and planting material of different fruit and commercial crops.    

 Production of seeds and planting material of horticultural crops

Year	Seeds (q)	Planting materials (₹ in lakhs)
		Vegetable seedlings	Fruit and Plantation crop	Total
2013-14	380.00	29.24	3.80	33.04
2014-15	114.60	29.85	3.84	33.69
2015-16	163.90	21.35	2.48	23.83
2016-17	182.00	28.02	3.78	31.80
2017-18	174.12	24.21	2.92	27.13
2018-19	94.00	26.68	2.17	28.85
2019-20	178.49	29.10	3.10	32.20
2020-21	151.70	26.53	2.06	28.59
2021-22	431.25	27.14	2.15	29.20
2022-23	386.0	27.58	2.32	29.90
2023-24	235.85	18.35	1.65	20.00
Total	2491.91	288.05	30.27	318.32

 Farmers participatory seed production.

India’s seed sector has advanced alongside agricultural productivity, but quality seeds of improved varieties and hybrids are still inadequate, limiting production. Farmers often use farm-saved seeds for high-volume, low-value crops like groundnut, soybean, and chickpea, leading to 80% of the area being sown with old varieties. Despite the development of higher-yielding and disease-resistant varieties, seed production for these crops remains largely with public sector agencies due to their bulky nature and high infrastructure costs.

Current seed replacement rates are 12-15%, need to increase upto 20-25% for varieties and 100% for hybrids. Farmers need timely access to improved seeds at reasonable prices to boost productivity. Both informal seed systems (farmer-managed) and formal seed enterprises are vital, with the informal sector effectively reaching smallholder areas and potentially evolving into formal enterprises.

Seed village concept:

The gap between the requirement of quality seeds and their supply is large. The gap may be reduced by involving the end users i.e., Farmers in the production of quality seeds. Both the informal (farmer-managed) and formal (seed enterprises) seed sectors play a significant role in ensuring the availability of improved seeds at the right time and place, at a reasonable price. A group of farmers or villages will be identified under “Seed Village” concept to produce particular crop/ variety seed.

The main objectives are to Involve farmers in the seed production and thereby making quality seed available at a reasonable price and also to demonstrate and saturate selected potential villages with improved varieties/ hybrid seeds of major crops.

The implementation of this programme by UAS, Dharwad has been most successful and this concept adopted by other institutes as “Dharwad  Model”. The University scientists monitor all activities of seed production and it has provided employment to villagers. Under seed village concept besides the aim of popularization of improved varieties/ production technologies, the client oriented seed production is also undertaken.  During the seed production programme innovative techniques, viz. seed treatment with bioagents, pest control through IPM is addressed to minimize the cultivation cost. This concept also ensures efficient transfer of technology and improved relationship between scientists and farmers.

The benefits include i)Farmers get quality seeds of improved varieties at right time and place, ii) Quality seeds of improved varieties spread quickly from farmers to farmers, iii) Seed quality improved through regular field visits and monitoring by scientists iv) Farmers get updated knowledge on seed production and post harvest handling v) Human resource development and enhanced employment generation vi) Seed producing farmers get 10-15 percent higher premium process over market rates, vii) Enhanced socio-economic status of seed producing farmers and viii) Establishment of seed growers association.

Extension Activities related to quality seed production

Trainings

Production of quality seeds depends on the skill of the seed grower. The seed grower should have a thorough knowledge about seed production practices and post harvest technology to produce quality seeds.

In order to impart this knowledge to farmers, the Seed Unit organizes the training porgrammes to the farmers on different aspects of seed production techniques, seed crop management, pest and disease management, post- harvest handling, seed quality, seed storage etc of different crops.

Demonstrations

To enhance the adoption level of new varieties/hybrids and to demonstrate new seed production technologies, the following demonstrations were carried out on farmers fields.

·              Many new crop varieties/hybrids of different crops have been demonstrated for seed production which helps for their adoption on large scale replacing old varieties.

·         Integrated pest management practices (IPM) using bio-control agents have been demonstrated to reduce the cost of seed production in different crops including hybrid cotton by reducing use of pesticides.

·         Broad Bed and Furrow (BBF)method for increased ground nut seed yield and seed quality has been demonstrated under water scarce or excess conditions.

·         Demonstration of seed quality enhancement techniques like seed coating and seed invigoration/hardening in different crops.

Field days

To popularize improved varieties/ hybrids and their seed production technology, number of field days was organized at farmer’s field involving various crops. The field day s helps to bring all the stake holders of seed production on common platform.

Infrastructure facilities development:

The University has given top priority for creation of the required infrastructure facilities for production and supply of quality seeds. The total amount of 231.75 lakhs was used infrastructure development under revolving fund. The amount of 275.9 lakhs was used for infrastructure development under seed hubs. The amount of 58.00 lakhs used for Seed testing and molecular laboratory establishment.