Principles in Seed Vigour Testing

Seed is both the starting and ending point for a vast majority of those engaged in Agriculture. The one UG practical class on “seed vigor” compelled me to learn more and more and forced me to compile a century and quarter work done in the field of seed vigour by national and international institutes which ultimately took the shape of this book duly providing basic principles in Seed vigour for easy understanding of the students, staff and person engaged in seed industry. Questions and Numerical problems were incorporated for the benefit of students. In a country like India bestowed with diversified agro-climatic conditions has rendered seed production of numerous location specific crop varieties feasible. Yet, retention of their viability and germination has become a serious problem and causing much loss to the end users, the farming community. In the present scenario of climate change, which includes the altered temperatures, photoperiods, rainfall and humidity, etc., seed vigor is declining very rapidly with the length of storage. Short periods of storage under adverse conditions too affect seed vigor more than viability and vigor is lost more rapidly than viability. Loss of vigor is more complex than just physical deterioration. Moreover, seed vigor cannot be measured reliably by standard germination test alone., etc. have rendered the sustainability of farmers is in doubt. With altered climatic conditions vigor is being affected prior to the viability and germination. So this is the need of hour for safe guarding the interests of both farmers as end users of seed and those engaged in seed to seed in public and private sectors. This book offers the basic input for learning by covering all important fundamental topics in a systematic manner with principles affecting seed vigour as well as recent advances in seed vigor and is expected to serve the twin purposes as a textbook for introductory course in seed vigor testing for undergraduate students and as a reference book for Post graduate students and Researchers in seed production, processing, packaging and seed marketing industry in general and all those engaged in seed business in particular. The book basically deals with problems related to seed vigor faced by seed industry on one hand end users or farmers on the other and suggest ways and means to solve the problem. This book also focuses on advances in understanding vigor at molecular level in various crops.
Contents:
1. Seed Vigour (Quality knows no border) 2. Origin and Meaning of Seed Vigour 3. Need, History, Definition and Concepts in Seed Vigour and Testing (It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness) 4. Principles and Elements in Seed Vigour Testing 5. Differences and Manifestation of Seed Vigour 6. Relationship of Seed Vigour with Yield 7. Seed Deterioration and Mechanism of Seed Vigour 8. Requirements and Procedures for Standardization of Seed Vigour Testing 9. Precision of Seed Vigour Testing and Reporting of Seed Vigour Test Results 10. Seed Vigour Testing
About the Author:
Vallabhaneni Satyanarayana Rao born on 15th June1959 in Gudlavalleru, a prosperous village in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh. He obtained his B.Sc., Degree in Agriculture in 1980, M.Sc in Agricultural Botany in 1982 from Gorakhpur University, Uttar Pradesh and he took his Ph.D from Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh in the year 2005. At present he is working at the second oldest Agricultural Colleges of South India for the past one decade as Professor in the Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Bapatla. He had a very wide range of experience in teaching farmers and state agricultural extension officials on one hand as Assistant Oil Seeds Specialist, Farm manager, Assistant Research Officer, Rice and in-charge Pulses programme from 1985 to 1999 at RARS, Jagtial. Between 2000-2005 he worked as Senior Scientist in Seed Technology Project, and Senior Scientist Plant Breeding AICRP on Forage Crops at Rajendranagar, Hyderabad. He has joined Agricultural College, Bapatla as Associate Professor and Taught Principles of Plant Breeding and Principles of Seed Technology to graduate students from 2006 to 2013. He is a life member Indian Society Oil seeds Research, Indian Society of Forage Research, Indian Society of Agroforestry, Andhra Agricultural Journal, Indian Society of Millets Research. Prior to this between 2013 and 2015 he has worked for a while as principal Scientist Plant Breeding in AICRP on Agro-forestry. At present he is working as Professor and Head, Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding from 2015 and he has guided four Ph.D students and 8 M.Sc. (Ag.) students Chairman and also a member of Advisory Committee of Several P.G and Ph.D students. His major areas of interest are in Crop Physiology especially the stress physiology and crop improvement in crops like groundnut, sorghum, ragi and rice. The author has fifty research papers to his credit besides three UG laboratory practical manuals.