Organic seed production and certification with special reference to Rajasthan

Abstract

Organic seed production is need of present scenario, where every person is concern with quality food. The most compelling reason of using organically produced product is, it has less chemical impact on environment. Ensuring quality of organically produced seed is also important criteria where legal standards are checked and certificate of quality provided through various process. In order to understand all the process or organic seed, its production and certification we need to learn about organic seed, its importance, national standards for organic seed production, seed production plans, factors influencing it and many other aspects related to organic seed production. Breeding strategy for organic seed production is an important criterion to breed variety which suits in an eco-friendly cultivation of crops. In India, many farmers produce seed organically however lack of legal certification for their produce make it unable to catch the price as certified organic seed fetch. It is an important issue that everyone involved in organic seed production must know what, how and where they can get and use the input materials for this type of seed production for sustainability. Therefore this chapter include all the materials which are allowed, restricted and prohibited to use for organic seed production and certification. Key challenges and suggested organic farming practices have also been explained which will be helpful for scientific community who are approaching toward eco-friendly agriculture. Special reference has been given to Rajasthan, where from applying for organic seed product to obtain their certificate has been illustrated. © 2021 Elsevier Inc.