Seed management

The research objective was to evaluate the ecosystem services of different rice establishment systems to determine their potential and importance as ecological assets and strive to find out the most productive establishment method while minimizing its effects on the natural resources, environment, and human health. A novel valuation approach was developed using an experimental and bottom-up method to assess the value of rice systems based on three aspects: provisioning, regulation and maintenance, and cultural services. To evaluate the ecosystem services of different rice establishment methods, 11 indicators were selected. The seven rice establishment methods evaluated were random-puddled transplanted rice, line- puddled transplanted rice, conventional till-machine transplanted rice, zero till-machine transplanted rice, system of rice intensification, conventional till, and zero till- direct seeded rice. The results revealed that the value of rice ecosystem services across establishment practices averaged US$ 9092 ha^-1 yr^-1. Direct seeded rice (zero till/conventional till) provided the highest ecosystem services at US$ 9491 ha^-1year^-1 and random puddled transplanted rice was lowest at US$ 8767 ha^-1 year^-1. Provisioning, regulation-maintenance, and cultural ecosystem services contributed 20.3,79.4, and 0.3% to the total ecosystem services value.

Dubey, R., Mishra, J., Das, A. et al. Enhancing ecosystem services through direct-seeded rice in middle Indo-Gangetic Plains: a comparative study of different rice establishment practices. Agron. Sustain. Dev. 44, 57 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-024-00992-2

There is an urgent need to render food production more sustainable in both economic and environmental terms. Scientists Carrillo-Reche et al. reviewed the potential of so-called ‘on-farm’ seed priming, a low-cost low-risk technology for agricultural intensification in developing countries. They concluded that on average crop yields from ‘on farm’ primed seeds were 21 % higher than conventionally sown seeds, suggesting that the technique can be adopted by resource-poor farmers.

Farmer seed exchange is essential for food security because seed exchange maintains crop biodiversity and, in turn, biodiverse crops survive better climate changes and pest infection. However, actually we do not understand exactly how seed exchange networks induce crop diversity. A study by Pautasso explains why individual farmers do not cultivate all varieties present in a region or a village.

Jerusalem artichoke is good for health because this plant contains inulin, a dietary fiber that enhances the immune system in humans. However cultivating Jerusalem artichoke is actually difficult because freshly harvested seeds are dormant, meaning that seeds are ‘sleeping’. Seeds indeed need lengthy storage and complicated treatments to ‘wake up’ and grow.  Puttha et al. found that treating seeds under cold and wet conditions with gibberellic acid, a natural compound, waked up seeds rapidly.