Covers seed drying methods (sun drying, forced air drying, heated air drying, moisture equilibrium), seed processing plant layout, cleaning equipment (air-screen cleaner, gravity separator), upgrading machines, seed treatment (fungicides/insecticides), packaging (jute/polythene bags), storage conditions (orthodox/recalcitrant seeds, 8-10% moisture, controlled temperature/humidity), marketing, and seed testing (ISTA standards, germination, purity, vigor tests).
Comprehensive coverage of seed certification history (Sweden 1886, AOSCA 1919), objectives, classes of certified seed, certification procedure (application, field inspection 2-3 stages, seed sampling and testing, certification tags/labels), field standards (isolation, off-types, diseases), seed standards (purity 98%, germination 85%), grow-out tests, and certification tag color codes.
Seed production for onion (bulb-to-bulb/seed-to-seed methods, vernalization, isolation 1000m, umbel harvesting), bottle gourd (isolation 400-1000m, monoecious/dioecious types, hand pollination), ridge gourd (isolation 400m, bagging, fruit maturity indices, seed extraction 25-30 days after pollination), drying methods, and quality standards for allium and cucurbit vegetables.
Vegetable seed production covering tomato varieties/hybrids (isolation 25-50m, hand crossing, fruit harvesting, seed extraction, fermentation), brinjal (isolation 50-200m, emasculation, bagging), chillies/hot peppers (isolation 100-400m), quality standards, field inspection stages, seed extraction methods, drying (8-10% moisture), and certification procedures for solanaceous vegetables.
Seed production for cotton varieties (desi/American upland, isolation 10-50m) and hybrids (CMS system, male sterility A/B/R lines, 6:2 planting ratio), bhendi/okra varieties (isolation 200-400m), hand emasculation and pollination techniques, field standards, seed treatment, ginning processes, quality parameters, and hybrid cotton production methods.