Abstract

The importance of good seed is well realised in Agriculture. The quality of seed is dependent upon a number of factors such as the maturity of the seeds, purity, the method of storage adopted, the period of storage after harvest, the age of the seed and the incidence of pests and diseases during storage. For the determination of the quality of the seed and arriving at its real value two important factors are to be considered namely (1) purity and (2) germination enpacity. With the advance of modern agriculture, seed testing has become very important in most countries of the world. The Governments of most of the countries have enforced seed laws and regulations to assure their farmers of improved varieties and qualities of seeds and ultimate good stand of crops and returns. It has been realised in our country also that it should promulgate laws regulating the sale of seeds in similar lines as in other countries. It is proposed that in the case of seeds put up for sale by seed merchants, "guarantee certifi- cates" should be obtained by them from the seed testing stations before they sell (Pal and Mukerji, 1950). This calls for the need for first fixing up the seed standards for the different crop seeds on regional basis and with a view to contribute data on this aspect, research work is being conducted in the Botany section, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Coimbatore. The data gathered on the germination studies in Abelmoschus esculentus is presented here.

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