Indian Seed System Development: Policy and Institutional Options

Developments in the Indian seed industry and their impact on access and use of commercial seed by farmers have been examined. Various types of seed systems such as hybrids, self-pollinated crops, vegetatively propagated crops, crops with high seed volume, etc have been analysed. It has been shown that the commercial seed markets for hybrids are well developed, but these need improving flow of information to farmers and effective regulation of unscrupulous traders, etc. There are significant changes in terms of seed regulations, management of GM crops and protection of intellectual property. Since all these regulations are mutually enforcing, there is a need for developing institutional capacity for their enforcement, as well as flexibility to learn from the experience for future adaptation. There is a lot of scope for strengthening the seed system of ‘orphan crops’, where there is no participation of the private sector, and the public seed system is facing several resource and institutional constraints. In particular, there is a need for technological backstopping, developing partnerships with private and civil society organisations, and developing capacity at the local level. The results of farm surveys have shown that increasing proportion of farmers use commercial seed for quality considerations. The study has argued that there is a problem with variety selection, particularly of proprietary hybrids, due to lack of information, which has resulted into poor crop performance on several occasions.Crop Production/Industries,

Delivering Seeds of 'Orphan' Crops: The Case Studies of Potato and Groundnut in India

This paper examines the performance of the Indian seed system in the context of high volume, low value seed, using the case studies of potato and groundnut. In theory, public sector should be able to address seed needs of farmers growing these crops. However, the ability of the public sector is constrained by a number of institutional and technical factors, and farmers largely depend upon traditional sources of seed. The traditional sources meet more than two-thirds of the total seed demand , and the rest is met by the formal seed system, mainly public seed agencies. Most of the farmers buy fresh seed for quality reasons, and only 12-15 percent farmers purchase seed to change variety. In potato, technological innovation provided options to enhance multiplication rate and improve quality of seed, and therefore attracted the private sector in the production and delivery of seed to farmers. Availability of source seed from public plant breeding programs further encouraged the private sector's participation. However, it is very unlikely that the crops under study will attract private investment in plant breeding because of inadequate incentives even under the new IPR regime. Therefore, public research system should continue to shoulder the responsibility of plant breeding, and develop partnership with the private sector to strengthen decentralized seed activities. Coordination among public seed corporations of different states may help augment seed supply in the deficit regions, and offer greater choice to farmers. Efforts to develop supply chain, especially for premium market, will eventually attract private sector in the product, as well as seed market.Seed system, Seed sources, Seed saving, Seed quality, Supply chain, India, Crop Production/Industries, O3, Q13, Q16,

Synthesis and Characterization of Colloidal Gold Nanoparticles Suspension using Liquid Soaps

In this communication, we represent a versatile and effective technique to synthesize stable aqueous dispersions of gold nanoparticles using chemicals presents in the liquid soaps. Auric tetra chloride (HAuCl4) was used as precursors for synthesis of the gold nanoparticles. The reduction of the gold precursor was carried out using citric acid, Glycerin and other reducing agents present in the liquid soap. Sodium sulphate, sodium chloride present in the liquid soap acts as stabilizing agents. The sources of these precursors in this case were liquid soaps like Pril Perfect (lime), Dettol (Hand Wash), Palmolive, Nomarks (Face Wash), Lakme fruit Burst (Face Wash), Clean & Clear (Face Wash), and Himalaya Neem (Face Wash). By using different process like thermal reduction, microwave, solvothermal and photo catalytic reduction process the above reaction was accomplished. UV-visible spectroscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) was used to ascertain the formation of gold nanoparticles. The color of the gold nanoparticles suspension varies from red to blue depending upon the shape and size of the particles Keywords: Green technology, microwave irradiation, photo catalytic, Autoclave, solvothermal, spectroscopy and microscopy

Spontaneous Rectal Perforation with Transanal Evisceration of the Small Bowel: A Rare Case Report

Transanal evisceration of the small bowel is a rare surgical emergency. Rectal perforation in such cases is usually due to an underlying rectal prolapse. We report a case of a middle aged (45 years) male with spontaneous rectal perforation and transanal evisceration of the small bowel. Approximately 150 cm of small bowel had eviscerated transanally and the patient required emergent abdominal exploration, reposition of the small bowel, and repair of the rectal perforation. Small bowel evisceration through the anal verge is an emergent condition and the aim was to prevent life threatening complications related to sepsis

Indian Seed System Development: Policy and Institutional Options

Developments in the Indian seed industry and their impact on access and use of commercial seed by farmers have been examined. Various types of seed systems such as hybrids, self-pollinated crops, vegetatively propagated crops, crops with high seed volume, etc have been analysed. It has been shown that the commercial seed markets for hybrids are well developed, but these need improving flow of information to farmers and effective regulation of unscrupulous traders, etc. There are significant changes in terms of seed regulations, management of GM crops and protection of intellectual property. Since all these regulations are mutually enforcing, there is a need for developing institutional capacity for their enforcement, as well as flexibility to learn from the experience for future adaptation. There is a lot of scope for strengthening the seed system of ‘orphan crops’, where there is no participation of the private sector, and the public seed system is facing several resource and institutional constraints. In particular, there is a need for technological backstopping, developing partnerships with private and civil society organisations, and developing capacity at the local level. The results of farm surveys have shown that increasing proportion of farmers use commercial seed for quality considerations. The study has argued that there is a problem with variety selection, particularly of proprietary hybrids, due to lack of information, which has resulted into poor crop performance on several occasions

Delivering Seeds of 'Orphan' Crops: The Case Studies of Potato and Groundnut in India

This paper examines the performance of the Indian seed system in the context of high volume, low value seed, using the case studies of potato and groundnut. In theory, public sector should be able to address seed needs of farmers growing these crops. However, the ability of the public sector is constrained by a number of institutional and technical factors, and farmers largely depend upon traditional sources of seed. The traditional sources meet more than two-thirds of the total seed demand , and the rest is met by the formal seed system, mainly public seed agencies. Most of the farmers buy fresh seed for quality reasons, and only 12-15 percent farmers purchase seed to change variety. In potato, technological innovation provided options to enhance multiplication rate and improve quality of seed, and therefore attracted the private sector in the production and delivery of seed to farmers. Availability of source seed from public plant breeding programs further encouraged the private sector's participation. However, it is very unlikely that the crops under study will attract private investment in plant breeding because of inadequate incentives even under the new IPR regime. Therefore, public research system should continue to shoulder the responsibility of plant breeding, and develop partnership with the private sector to strengthen decentralized seed activities. Coordination among public seed corporations of different states may help augment seed supply in the deficit regions, and offer greater choice to farmers. Efforts to develop supply chain, especially for premium market, will eventually attract private sector in the product, as well as seed market