There are many factors to consider when choosing which type of seed to grow. Which one you choose ultimately comes down to your growing experience, purposes and objectives.
Regular seeds produce both male and female plants, which need to be weeded out during the flowering phase. This is the only way to guarantee a 100% female crop.
Breeding
Breeding is the process of sexual reproduction, which produces offspring with desirable traits. This involves crossing plants with similar characteristics to obtain the next generation, and plant breeders utilize a variety of techniques to improve crop varieties for food, feed, fiber, fuel, landscape uses and eco-systems services.
The most promising genotypes are selected for further breeding, and new cultivars with superior characteristics are produced through selective plant selection and hybridization. While natural genetic variation is important for crop improvement, modern breeding programs often use molecular markers to speed up the breeding process.
To enhance seed quality, it is essential that the climatic conditions are favourable for higher yields during flowering and maturation. The germination performance of the seeds is highly dependent on temperature and wind velocity. The seeds should be planted in a well-drained soil and free from excessive rainfall. Staggered seeding of R line is also recommended to achieve proper synchronization of flowering. It is advisable to sow kharif during 2nd fortnight of May and rabi during the 2nd fortnight of December.
Cloning
Clones are plant cuttings taken from a mature, healthy mother plant that is the same as the one you’re cultivating. They require a different growing medium than seeds and will need to be kept in a humid environment for three weeks before they are ready to be transplanted.
A key advantage of cloning is that it eliminates genetic variability. Home growers often complain that a pack of seeds produces plants with variations in appearance, colour, taste and potency. Cloning can help to solve these problems, since clones produce identical offspring.
The mean POij of female and male strobilus in CSO2 and CSO2.5 was 0.240 and 0.325, respectively. This means that clones had little or no overlap in the time of female receptivity and pollen shedding. However, variation within a clone class also existed, and a higher POij in a class may indicate an increased probability of pollination. Hence, it is important to monitor phenological synchronization over multiple years of data.
Genetics
Genetics is the study of heredity and variation in organisms, including plants. It involves studying how genes and environments work together to influence development and behavior. This is sometimes referred to as nature versus nurture. For example, a genetically identical corn seed planted in a temperate climate will grow taller than a seed planted in an arid climate because of the differences in their environments.
Seed vigor is a complex physiological trait that is affected by multiple factors (Clerkx et al., 2003; Vandecasteele et al., 2011; Han et al., 2014). Several QTLs in the genome have documented associations with seed vigor. Among these, the gene encoding phospholipase D is a major factor affecting seed vigor and longevity.
To maintain the desired genetic purity, seeds must be isolated during the breeding process to avoid natural crossing and disease infection. The seeds are also rogued prior to flowering to remove off-type plants that could contaminate the remainder of the seed crop.
Organic
Organic farming became all the rage among Millenials with Whole Foods leading the way. This has increased demand for all organic food, including organic seed. However, the supply of organic seed has not kept up with broader demand. This has prompted discussions about how to increase organic seed production and use.
Our simulation model aims to capture the dynamics of input supply decisions at both the farm and value chain levels, and the effects of these on organic production. We focus on the wash/storage carrot crop as an example that represents a major crop in the EU and which is largely dependent on outside organic seed for multiplication.
Our simulation results show that organic producers are more apt to adopt organic seed than conventional farmers, but only up to a certain threshold level. This threshold varies between the different agent groups and is based on their learning in a network. It also depends on their perception of the quality of organic and non-organic seed.
