Seed Industry

Prices of Guar seed futures is expected to shoot up to as much as Rs 4,600 on NCDEX, supported by projections of a weak monsoon and spike in global crude oil prices, IndiaNivesh said in a research report. Guar seed is one of the major Kharif commercial crops of Rajasthan. The state contributes around 80% to the total domestic crop. Guar seed and its derivatives - Guar gum is mainly used in oil exploration industries. Recently, Skymet Weather Services, an Indian private company, predicted that there is a 55% of chance for below average monsoon this year, particularly in during the time (June-September) when Kharif crops are sown. “Below normal rain during sowing months of June-July could affect sowing of Guar seed this year and lower acreage will support commodity prices,” IndiaNivesh director Manoj Kumar Jain said in the note. “In our view, lower rainfall and increased demand of Guar gum will support Guar seed prices in coming days. Guar seed could test Rs.4, 60

India as major seed hub in Asia Four Indian seed companies feature in top 10 The global and regional seed industry invests heavily in India to support the productivity of smallholder farmers. An evaluation of 24 leading seed companies in the region shows that 21 companies sell seeds in India and 18 have invested in breeding and production activities in the country. As a comparison, only 11 companies invest in breeding activities in Thailand and 8 in Indonesia, the two other major regional seed hubs.  In South and Southeast Asia about 350 million people are undernourished, a number that has barely changed in the past two years, according to a recent United Nations report 1 . Around 30% of the children in the region (38% in India) are malnourished. Smallholders provide up to 80% of the food supply, so helping the 170 million smallholder farmers of South and Southeast Asia (100 million in India) to grow more and more nutritious food is key to achieving food and nutrition securi

Highlights of Success ·          First public triple disease resistant tomato F1 hybrid in India ·          Yields up to 18 kg/plant ·          Successfully withstood against ToLCV, BW & EB in farmers’ fields ·          Earned an average net income ranging from Rs 4-5 lakhs/ac depending on seasons. ·          Adoption of precision farming practices to harness full yield potential. Tomato is one of the important vegetable crops grown in India. Among the major contributing states Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar and Maharashtra, the average productivity is highest in Karnataka (35 t/ha) mostly due to the favorable environmental conditions and adoption of high yielding hybrids. However, India yet to achieve the yield potential (60-80 t/ha) due to low adoption of hybrids and occurrence of pests, diseases and other abiotic factors.  Among biotic factors, diseases like Tomato Leaf Curl Virus (ToLCV), Bacterial wilt (BW) and early bl