Breeding Counts In Selecting Seed

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30936, 17 December 1965, Page 6

Breeding Counts In Selecting Seed

The importance of selecting and growing seed of the highest quality, even if it means extra expenditure, is an initial consideration which, if neglected, can often undo all the hard work and cost of preparation. This may seem more applicable to the commercial grower; but it applies as well to those of us with but a few square yards of garden.

Good seed is characterised by various fea* tures, including a high germination rate, good breeding and freedom from disease. To produce it requires strict attention to a number of very important factors, the chief of which is perhaps the method by which the particular seed is normally pollinated. Varieties, for instance, frequently cross pollinate readily, and even groups of related plants such as brassicas (cabbage, cauliflower etc.) will cross freely, especially where pollination is carried out by insects, as in the case of cabbage and allied crops, or by wind (beetroot). In consequence seedling plants must be grown at varying distances from one another as laid down by law. This is also overcome by covering the flowering heads with something such as polythene bags, which will prevent dissemination of pollen. LESS SUSCEPTIBLE

Plants which are self pollinating and are self fertile, such as French beans, are less susceptible to cross pollination and can quite easily be fertilised by pollination carried out by the grower himself. The seed used to raise the plants selected for seed production must have come in the first place from plants which have displayed outstanding characteristics. They must be possessed of high vitality, and not just be viable. Germination with vigour to produce good quality, quick-starting plants which will do so under the various conditions encountered in field or garden is necessary for weakly germinating seeds rarely develop into strong, heavy-yielding plants.

They must be free from disease likely to be seedborne or transmissible in any way and in consequence production must be rigidly controlled in various ways, including growing in specially selected areas such as high altitudes. Even then there may be an infection and heat or chemical treatment may be given to kill any chance carry-over. SIZE IMPORTANT

Again, size and weight of seed greatly influences subsequent plant growth and it has been proved conclusively that larger, heavier seeds produce superior results in several ways over smaller and lighter ones.

A combination of factors which could be termed good breeding in seeds plays a continuously progressve role in seed production. Under this heading one could include the research work done in trials not only by the seed firms but by such bodies as the Department of Scientific and Industrial

Research, Vegetable Division, for good seed means more than just an occurrence of trueness to type. It embodies the improvements which have resulted from years of experimental work to increase yields, speed up growth from seed to maturity, increase resistance to pest and diseases, adaptability for seasons and conditions, size, appeal of colour and form, and suitability for a specific purpose, such as preserving or freezing.

New varieties and strains usually don't just happen. They are the achievements or end products of years of work by skilled technicians who specialise in breeding, selecting, raising and testing countless numbers of plants and their seeds.

By appreciating that so much work has been done before the packet goes on sale one may realise why one sometimes has to pay what seems exceptionally much. This is especially so when something new has just been released for the first time.