Evaluating of quality of groundnut seeds used for sowing by farmers in Saurashtra region of Gujarat

Abstract

The present study was aimed to evaluate the quality of groundnut seeds used for sowing by farmers of Saurashtra region of Gujarat. One hundred nineteen seed samples of farmers saved seeds of groundnut were collected from 35 farmers of Devbhoomi Dwarka, 26 farmers of Jamnagar, 48 farmers of Morbi and 10 farmers of Rajkot districts of Gujarat. The study revealed that overall 83.20 per cent farmers’ saved seed samples of groundnut was confirmed to the required seed standards for germination, moisture content, physical purity and seed health with respect to insect infestation; while, 90.00 per cent seed samples of groundnut had recorded equal or higher than 70 per cent field emergence. These suggested that the quality of groundnut seed used for sowing by farmers was satisfactory in Gujarat. Even though, seed quality was reflected in the yield performance of the crop. Hence, the farmers need to be more educated about the importance and advantages of using good quality seeds and be trained for maintaining the seed quality by adopting pre and post harvest measures so as to harvest good yields of the desired varieties.