Science of seed

Sunflower is a huge yearly forb from the genus Helianthus that is grown as a crop for its edible fruit and oil. The flowers at the centre of the head of the plant are known as 'Disk flowers' which further facilitate to mature into the fruit of the plant called as 'Sunflower seeds'. The sunflower seeds are excellent source of dietary fibre, amino acids, vitamin E, vitamin B (vitamin B1 or thiamine, vitamin B5 or pantothenic acid and folate), and minerals (phosphorus, calcium, potassium, magnesium, zinc, iron, manganese, selenium and copper) and are also rich in cholesterol-lowering phytosterols. The residual part or by product left after the extraction of oil from the seeds, is known as Seedcake (SC). Over the years the sunflower seed cake (SSC) has been used as animal feed, organic fertilizer and soil compost. Considering the nutritional potential of sunflower seedcake, as it still remains with multifarious nutrients, this underutilized SSC can be a valuable source of remedies of various nutritional deficiencies or other health problems. In regard to this influential aspect the aim of this investigation was to evaluate the nutritional quality of SSC. The nutritional composition was estimated by standard procedures. The chemical analysis of the sunflower seed cake was resulted as moisture (9.23g), crude protein (37.10g), crude fat (0.69g), ash (7.49g), crude fibre (21.50g), carbohydrate (23.97g) and energy (250.56kcal), iron (6.44mg), calcium (650mg), phosphorus (711.33mg) and phytic acid (700mg) per 100g on dry weight basis. Hence, it can concluded from the above mentioned results that SSC was nutritionally rich as a source of protein, fibre, carbohydrate and energy that can be beneficial for various therapeutic purposes.

The present study aimed to investigate the variation rates between sowing dates, seed sizes and seed priming treatments as well as their interactions on seed vigor, field emergence, yield and it`s components of faba bean. In the laboratory experiment, treatments were arranged in a completely randomized design with three replicates for each experiment of germination temperature (15°C, 22°C and 30°C) included two factors, the first assigned as seed size categories (larger size ≥110g, medium size 70-75g and smaller size ≤45g). The second factor occupied with seed priming treatments (unprimed seed, 100 ppm GA3 and 200 ppm GA3). Results revealed that, temperature (22°C), larger size (≥110g) and GA3 (200 ppm) recorded the highest significant rates of seed vigor indices, while the lowest values were obtained by 30°C, smaller size (≤45g) and the unprimed seed. Regarding field experiment, it was laid in a split plot design with three replicates for each sowing date (1 st October, 1 st Novemb...

The present study aimed to investigate the variation rates between sowing dates, seed sizes and seed priming treatments as well as their interactions on seed vigor, field emergence, yield and it`s components of faba bean. In the laboratory experiment, treatments were arranged in a completely randomized design with three replicates for each experiment of germination temperature (15°C, 22°C and 30°C) included two factors, the first assigned as seed size categories (larger size ≥110g, medium size 70-75g and smaller size ≤45g). The second factor occupied with seed priming treatments (unprimed seed, 100 ppm GA3 and 200 ppm GA3). Results revealed that, temperature (22°C), larger size (≥110g) and GA3 (200 ppm) recorded the highest significant rates of seed vigor indices, while the lowest values were obtained by 30°C, smaller size (≤45g) and the unprimed seed. Regarding field experiment, it was laid in a split plot design with three replicates for each sowing date (1 st October, 1 st November and 1 st December), included seed sizes in the main plots and the seed priming treatments in the subplots, during 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 seasons. Results indicated that; the 1 st November, larger size (≥110g) and GA3 (200 ppm) presented the highest values of field emergence, plant height, No. pods and seed yield plant-1 , 100 seed weight and seed yield fed-1 during the two growing seasons. More, the triple interaction showed significant variance (P≤0.05) rates on plant height (2 nd season), No. pods plant-1 (1 st season), seed yield plant-1 (1 st season) and 100 seed weight (1 st season) and seed yield fed-1 (1 st season).

Identification of chilli cultivar is prime importance to ensuring seed quality during seed production, certification and quality control. Fifteen cultivars were subjected to different biochemical tests Viz., phenol test, modified phenol test with FeSO4 and CuSO4, analysis of soluble seed proteins by SDS-PAGE. No single varieties were so distinct in case of phenol colour reaction, while it helped to group the cultivars. Based on modified phenol text with ferrous sulphates 1per cent (FeSO4) and 0.5 per cent copper sulphate (CuSO4) helped in further classification of cultivars. The cultivars Gouribidanur Local and Phule Jyothi showed unique bands at 14 (Rm: 0.624) and 2 (0.191) level of band. All the cultivars were distinct among each other showing SDS-PAGE as efficient method in chilli cultivar identification. Introduction India is the largest producer of chilli in the world accounting nearly 90 per cent of world cultivation (Anon., 2003c). The area under cultivation during 2004-5005 was 0.94 million hectares with a production of 1.03 million tones. Chilli occupied the top slot in the list of spices exported from India during 1995-96 surpassing the traditional item black pepper and the export of chilli has reached a record level of 55,750 tons valued at Rs. 210.3 million (Gosh et al., 1997). In spite, the importance of local cultivars, which are selected and domesticated over a period of time, generations by the farmers for their adaptation to different climatic conditions, preferences in quality, biotic and abiotic stresses, cultural values, medicinal properties and yield are to be emphasized. Out of which many cultivars are now in seed production chain. However, there is lack of compiled key diagnostic characters of these cultivars, which is essential to carry out scientific seed production, enforce proper quality control and to promote seed trade. Rouging and the ODV test are effective tools to maintain genetic purity for which discerned specific and stable characters are the need of the hour. In order to maintain genuineness and quality of seed, seed technologists must be well equipped to identify different cultivars at seed level. Varietal description given by the breeder most often relates to field characters and insufficient to identify seed lot of a cultivar effectively. In the changing global scenario of the post-GATT era, the government of India has enacted Plant Varieties Protection Act and Farmer Rights Act, 2001, which provide protection to new, extinct varieties and germplasm. To qualify for protection under this act, the variety must be evaluated for its DUS (Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability) and VCU (Value for cultivation and use) tests. Morphological descriptors have traditional significance and have been adopted as classical taxonomic approach for identification of crop varieties. However, this is time consuming, requires large areas and highly skilled personnel, making subjective decisions due to variations in environmental reactions. Further, many of the morphological descriptors used are mutagenic, quantitative or continuous characters, the expression of which are altered by environmental factors and the analysis of which requires statistical tests. These are compelling reasons to find more rapid and cost-effective procedures that could augment morphologically based approaches that are directly applicable to seeds. Such as biochemical reaction of seeds to phenol and electrophoretic analyses of soluble seed proteins are the need of the moment.