PLANT QUARANTINE
PLANT QUARANTINE:- History and significance of plant quarantine. Principles, scope, and pro aspects of plant quarantine, plant quarantine operations in India. New seed policy in India concerning plant quarantine.
Role of plant quarantine in preventing and checking the spread of insects, plant pathogens, viruses and weeds, nematodes, and alien genes.
Multilateral agreement for the movement of transgenics; Domestic and international quarantine, its weaknesses and measures for its strengthening. Plant protection convention and international cooperation in plant quarantine. Pest risk analysis.
Problems in assessing the overall effectiveness of plant quarantine.
Techniques for the detection of insects, mites, nematodes, fungal, bacterial pathogens, and viruses. Salvaging the germplasm. New Exim policy. Plant quarantine authority.
SEED TECHNOLOGY
Terminology, significance, and historical development. Seed structure and development of infection and infestations.
Mechanism of seed infection, factors affecting seed infection. Seed transmission and factors affecting seed transmission of pathogens. The longevity of seed-borne pathogens.
Epighytology of seed-borne diseases. Nonparasitic seed disorders. Deterioration of seeds by storage fungi, mycotoxins, and mycotoxicosis. Detection of seed-borne pathogens.
Control of seed-borne pathogens. Selection of seed production areas. Crop management. Seed treatment (biological, chemical, physical, and mechanical). Seed certification and plant quarantine.
SEED ENTOMOLOGY
Principles of seed entomology. Insect pests and their classification based on the mode of infestation. Study of major insect-pests of principal crops for seed production and their management practices.
Various methods of insect-pest control. Different pesticides, their handling, and safe use on seed crops. Study of storage insect-pests infesting seeds, their development, and economic importance. Management of storage insect-pests, mites, and rodents.
Seed sampling and loss estimation. Principles of fumigation, fumigants and their use, effect of different fumigants, preservatives, and seed protectants on seed quality.
Type of storage structures– domestic and commercial. Principles of insect pollination, the role of pollinators in seed production. Augmenting quality seed production through honeybee pollination in cruciferous and forage legumes.
Plant protection in bee-pollinated crops. Management of pollinators for hybrid seed production.
SEED PHYSIOLOGY
Chemical composition of seed and its significance in seed quality. Synthesis and accumulation of food reserve.
Physiology of seed maturation, factors affecting seed germination, role of different organs of seed in germination. Biochemical changes during germination.
Role of promoters and inhibitors. Effect of age, size, and position of seed on germination. Seed dormancy- types, mechanism, endogenous and exogenous factors affecting dormancy,
the role of phytochrome, methods of breaking, and inducing dormancy. Seed vigor and its concept, factors affecting seed vigor,
the physiological and genetic basis of seed vigor, vigor tests, seed vigor, and crop performance and yield. Seed invigoration. Seed viability and longevity, pre and post-harvest factors affecting seed viability, loss of viability,
physiology of seed aging, and viability theories. Chemical composition and structural architecture of the bio-membranes and its impact on seed viability
CULTIVAR PURITY TESTING OF SEED
Objectives of cultivar purity test, general principles, and methods, use, and limitations of laboratory, greenhouse, and field plot methods. Morphological characters of seed, seedling and adult plants of major crops. Physiological,
chemical, and biochemical tests for varietal purity such as phenol and peroxidase. Electrophoresis of protein and isozymes,
DNA fingerprinting and their use in varietal registration and purity. Use of computer-based machine vision for varietal identification.
DUS testing. Plant variety protection (PVP), UPOV guidelines and Seeds Act
SEED PRODUCTION IN FORAGE AND PASTURE CROPS
Important pasture and forage crops in India. Seed requirement and production. Flower structure, floral biology, and pollination behavior.
Maintenance of varietal purity, genetic shifts in generation system of seed multiplication, kind of variety, pure line, synthetic or hybrid, apomictic grasses.
Improvement of apomictic grasses, selection of seed production areas, influence of season, seed rate and spacing, sowing methods, direct seed sowing, transplanting pelleting, fertilizer and manure requirement, isolation distances, weed control, pollination, and seed set, seed shattering,
stage of harvest, seed collection, seed processing, seed treatment, seed storage, seed viability of grasses.
SEED PRODUCTION IN VEGETABLE, FLOWER AND MEDICINAL PLANTS
History of the vegetable seed industry. Classification of vegetable crops based on pollination and reproduction behavior. Seed morphology and development in vegetable crops. The land requirement, isolation, season, planting time, nursery management, seed rate, roguing, seed production procedure.
Hybrid seed production in tomato, brinjal, chilies, watermelon, root crops, onion, cucurbits, and cole crops. Seed extraction and post-harvest care. Role of plant growth regulators in hybrid seed production, maintenance of varieties, and inbred lines.
Self-incompatibility in cole crops and maintenance of cole crop variety. Seed multiplication ratio, the role of bees as pollinators. Plant protection measures in vegetable seed production.
History of the floriculture seed industry. Selection of area for seed production of self-pollinated crops-annuals, biennials, and perennials. Seed production of cross-pollinated crops. Hybrid seed production. Method of sowing, planting density, weeding, disease control, harvesting method, and time. Cleaning and grading of flower seeds.
Germination, viability, dormancy, and morphology of the seeds of ornamental plants. Plant protection of flower seeds. Seed production of important flower crops-Ageratum, Antirrhinum, China-aster, Carnation,
Gypsophila, Static stock, Pansy, Marigold, Larkspur, Lupinus, and Petunia. Commercial production of vegetatively propagated flowers e.g. Gladiolus, Tulips, Chrysanthemum, etc. Seed production in- Cassia, Catharanthus, Gymnema, Rosella, Rowlfia, Solanum, and Plantago.
EMERGING TRENDS IN SEED QUALITY ENHANCEMENT
Concept and significance of quality enhancement. Seed treatments, history, principles and methods of seed treatment, seed treatment machinery, film coating, seed tapes, mats, pelleting, seed coloring, seed priming, priming agents,
physical seed treatment. Synthetic seeds- the concept of a synthetic seed, importance, historical development, somatic embryogenesis.
Embryo encapsulation systems, hardening of artificial seeds. Cryopreservation, storage, desiccation tolerance, somaclonal variation, and their control. Use of botanicals in improving seed quality.
SEED PRODUCTION IN FRUITS AND PLANTATION CROPS
Seed production and Dandling in perennial fruit crops like mango, guava papaya, citrus, herb, amla, and Jamun.
Seed collection and viability maintenance. Germination; problems and improvements. Vegetative propagation.
Seed production and handling in plantation crops like coffee, tea, cocoa, rubber, cardamom, pepper, clove, coconut, nutmeg, areca nut. Seed collection and viability maintenance.
