Seed Industry

According to the manufacturers, they need at least two years to become self-sufficient provided the government supports them with a special package. The industry is dependent on China for 30% intermediates, raw materials and technical grade pesticides that are manufacturing use products. The size of the Indian pesticide industry is over Rs 42,000 crore, out of which Rs 22,000 crore comes from exports. In the northern region, there are around 200 units and 2,800 across the country. On being asked whether the industry is prepared if the government bans imports from China or imposes high tariffs, Pradip Dave, president, Pesticides Manufacturers & Formulators Association of India, and chairman, Aimco Pesticides Ltd., said, “Indian and Chinese industry are working together for the past many years and have established a trade channel that facilitates the supply of raw material and technical grade products. If the higher tariffs are imposed, it will increase prices of pesticide ...

ICAR identifies 8 new hybrid maize varieties promising for release The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) on last Thursday said it has recognised eight new hybrid maize varieties as promising for release in different seasons and agro-ecologies in the country.   These maize varieties have been identified after discussion with farm scientists through a digital workshop of the All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) attended by 150 participants from across the country.   Addressing the workshop, the country''s premier government research body ICAR Director General Trilochan Mohapatra appreciated the efforts of maize scientists for continuing with the research work amid the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic.   He asked the Ludhiana-based ICAR-Indian Institute of Maize Research (ICAR-IIMR) to carry out basic, strategic and applied research for enhancing production, productivity and sustainability of the crop.   AICRP on maize needs ...

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 se...

Soybean - Cultivation Soybeans are an important global crop, with political ramifications. It is grown for its oil and protein. The bulk of the crop is solvent extracted for vegetable oil and the defatted soy meal is used for animal feed. A very small proportion of the crop is consumed directly for food by humans. Soybeans and were used as food in eastern Asia long before written records, and it is still a major crop in China, Japan and Korea. They were first introduced to Europe in the early 1700s and the United States in 1765, where it was first grown for hay. Benjamin Franklin wrote a letter in 1770 mentioning sending soybeans home from England. Soybeans did not become an important crop outside of Asia until about 1910. Cultivation is successful in climates with hot summers, with optimum growing conditions in mean temperatures of 20 °C to 30 °C; temperatures of below 20 °C and over 40 °C retard growth significantly. They can grow in a wide range of soils, with optimum growth in...