Seed Production of Vegetable, Tuber and Spice Crops

Definition-Seed Storage

• Seed storage is preservation of seed with initial quality until it is needed for planting. The ability of seed to tolerate moisture loss allows the seed to maintain the viability in dry state. Storage starts in the mother plant itself when it attains physiological maturity. After harvesting the seeds are either stored in ware houses or in transit or in retail shops. During the old age days, the farmers were used farm saved seeds in little quantity, but introduction of high yielding varieties and hybrids and modernization of agriculture necessitated the development of storage techniques to preserve the seeds.
• The practice of storing the seeds starts from the ancient days itself, following simple and cheap techniques eg. Placing the seeds in salt, red earth treatment to red gram etc. But the same practices are not hold good for the present day agriculture, because
- large quantity to be stored
- exchange of varieties and species
- exchange of genes

• The type of material to be stored decides the techniques to be followed for safe storage. Now a days storage technique changed from ordinary godown storage to cryogenic tank storage and even gene storage.