Mr. Manfred Ewool an agricultural research scientist has said in an interview with Rite News, that farmers ought to be careful in selecting their seeds when planting. According to him, planting season is here again and as farmers prepare their land for planting, there are crucial decisions to make to ensure a rewarding harvest. The following are the stages to follow to ensure a bumper harvest: Seed selection.
Good harvests start with good seed selection. Good quality seeds are essential for the growth of strong and healthy crops which can resist diseases or even drought. Healthy seeds can be bought from trusted sources like certified seeds stockists or agrovets shops. Farmers can produce their own seeds too.
He added that, seed selection plays a major role in determining the crop yield. Best seeds offer higher yields. There are several diseases that are transmitted via the seeds. If infected seeds are used for the next crop, seed-borne diseases are transferred into the farm. Seed selection should therefore start by obtaining seeds from healthy plants.
Small, shriveled and broken seeds contain less nutrition for the developing seedling. By removing these inferior seeds, the farmer is able to grow stronger and healthier seedlings. How to select seed While seed selection is mainly aimed at obtaining healthier seeds, it can be used also to maintain and improve the quality of the crop variety. In a crop field, farmers may observe differences in traits between plants. Some plants may have characteristics that are more desirable.
During the growing season, the farmer can try to observe these differences and mark preferred plants with a ribbon or with a stick. During the harvesting season, the seeds of these plants can be reserved as seed for the next crop. In this way, the farmer can slowly improve the quality of their varieties.
Christiana Ntiamoah/christinantiamoah73@gmail.com/ritefmonline.org
