Seed Production, Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1997 Principles and Practices

Plant breeders continue to make significant advances in developing high yield­ ing, adaptable, disease-free crops. These advances, however, are not realized until an efficient seed production system is in place that rapidly increases geneti­ cally superior crops and makes them available to the consumer in large quantities at a reasonable cost. Successful seed production requires seed to be genetically pure, free of admixtures, and able to establish rapidly a uniform stand. Seed production is a complex process. Rigorous production criteria are followed by both seed producer and seed companies to ensure that high-quality seed is produced and marketed. These criteria become even more stringent in hybrid seed production. This volume identifies the factors most critical in a successful seed production operation. The fundamental considerations common to all seed crops are established in Part I, Principles of Seed Production. From this founda­ tion, the practices of seed production are provided in detail in Part II, Seed Production of Specific Crops.

Part 1: Principles of Seed Production: Flowering ans seed set. Seed formation and development. Fundamentals of seed production. Planting. Harvesting. Conditioning. Drying and storage. Seed quality and performance. Evolution of the seed industry. Seed certification. Seed marketing. Seed legislation and law enforcement. Part II: Seed Production of Specific Crops. Cereal seeds. Corn. Sorghum. Small grains. Rice. Millets. Buckwheat. Peanut. Sunflower. Rapeseed/canola. Forage legume seeds. Alfalfa. True clovers (cool-season). Miscellaneous forage legumes. Warm-season forage legumes. Cool-season grasses. Major forage grasses. Warm-season grass seeds. Praire grasses. Savannah grasses. Grain legumes. Field and garden beans. Vegetable seeds. Onion. Tomato. Cabbage. Lettuce. Cucumber. Carrot. Sugarbeet. Flower seed production. Flower seeds. Wild flowers and native species. True seeds. Hickory. Pines. Index.

This book integrates seed technology and the production of agronomic species, seed production of field crops covers the principles and practices involved in producing, conditioning, evaluating, and marketing high quality seeds. The current seed production technology for each species is reviewed, including seeding methods , weed, insect and disease control , roguing and purification , harvesting, conditioning, bagging, and marketing. All production and research personnel in the seed industry, researchers, and graduate students in agronomy and crop science will find this volume an essential resource.