Seed Industry

How to Grow Strawberries ·           Soil preparation:  Prepare a weed-free site that gets 8 to 10 hours of strong sunlight a day. Well-drained soil with a pH around 6.0 to 6.2 is ideal. To avoid verticillium wilt, don't plant in sites where  raspberries , strawberries, or solanaceous plants (tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, etc.) have grown before.   ·           Planting:  Early spring planting is customary in most areas. For warm winter regions (California, Florida, and the southeast), fall planting is recommended.   ·           Spacing:  Space June bearers on  raised beds  with 18 to 24 inches between plants, in rows 3 to 4 feet apart. Hills 10 to 18 inches apart, planted with single plants, are best for everbearers, day neutrals, and June bearers in hot, humid climates. ·      ...

The  soybean  (US) or  soya bean  (UK) ( Glycine max )  is a species of  legume  native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible  bean which has numerous uses. The plant is classed as an  oilseed  rather than a  pulse  by the UN  Food and Agricultural Organization  (FAO). Fat-free (defatted) soybean meal is a significant and cheap source of protein for animal feeds and many  prepackaged meals ;  soy vegetable oil  is another product of processing the soybean crop. For example, soybean products such as  textured vegetable protein  (TVP) are ingredients in many meat and dairy analogues.  Soybeans produce significantly more protein per acre than most other uses of land. Download full book  HERE

According to the report, the world's six largest agrochemical manufacturers, who control nearly 75% of the global pesticide market, are also seed industry giants. It's worth breaking this down by company. Bayer: the world's biggest agrochemical company is also the world's seventh biggest seed company. Syngenta: the world's second largest agrochemical company is also the world's third largest seed company. Monsanto: the world's biggest seed company is the world's fifth largest agrochemical company. And DuPont: the world's second biggest seed company is also the world's sixth largest agrochemical company. All these companies are gene giants. Weed killers (herbicides) account for about one-third of the global pesticide market, and around 80% of GM seeds involve herbicide-resistance. The worldwide market for agrochemicals grew last year by nearly 10%

Leading producer countries of cotton Top ten cotton producers—2011 (480-pound bales)   People's Republic of China 33.0 million bales   India 27.0 million bales   United States 18.0 million bales   Pakistan 10.3 million bales   Brazil 9.3 million bales   Uzbekistan 4.6 million bales   Australia 4.2 million bales   Turkey 2.8 million bales   Turkmenistan 1.6 million bales   Greece 1.4 million bales The five leading exporters of cotton in 2011 are (1) the United States, (2) India, (3) Brazil, (4) Australia, and (5) Uzbekistan. The largest nonproducing  importers  are Korea, Taiwan, Russia, Hong Kong and Japan. In India, the states of Maharashtra (26.63%), Gujarat (17.96%) and Andhra Pradesh (13.75%) and also Madhya Pradesh are the leading cotton producing states, these states have a predominantly tropical wet and dry...

Production of Quality Seedlings Lead to Prestige and Prosperity Quality seedlings are essential for good growth and performance of vegetable crops. Hence, the practice of seedling production is emerging as a profession and commercial activity. During the past, as most of the vegetable varieties were open pollinated, farmers produced the seedlings at a relatively low cost by preparing their own nursery beds. However, due to increase in demand for seeds of hybrid varieties which cost much more than the open pollinated varieties, many progressive farmers and agriculture entrepreneurs have taken –up the production of quality seedlings using seedling trays as a commercial activity. One of such enterprising farmers, Mr. Prakash was cultivating finger millets, paddy, marigold and vegetables on 2.5 acres of ancestral land. His crops were plagued with diseases and low yield. Then, he approached Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore to find out the solution to his prob...