About The Book

About Author

Organic farming in India has seen unprecedented growth of 15-20% CAGR in the last few years due to constant efforts by the policy makers, farmers and support from the Government. There is also an unstated demand of safe food. Success of organic farming depends not only on the quality of organic produce but also on the quantum of production achieved through organic management. Crop production depends greatly on the quality of seed and an estimated 15-20% alone is contributed by quality seed which can further increase to 40-45% along with judicious management of other inputs. High crop production under organic management cannot be relied totally on traditional landraces or local cultivars for which high yielding varieties or seeds adapted to low input organic conditions are needed along with an efficient crop improvement program for organic conditions. The global seed market was valued at US$ 5.971 billion in 2018. It has been estimated that organic seed market will be worth US$ 5.4 billion by 2024. The Indian seed industry is valued at more than Rs. 2500 crores and is the fifth largest seed market globally. Indian seed accounts for around 4.5% of global seeds. Maximum seed market share is captured by vegetable seeds (42.0%), followed by other crop seeds, field crops and seeds of fruit and nut seeds with share of 28.2%, 23.9% and 5.9%, respectively.

In India, as on March, 2020 about 2.78 m ha of farmland was under organic cultivation which is roughly 2% of the net sown area in the country. Indian organic seed industry is in its nascent stage as compared to organic seed industries of North American or European countries like USA or Germany. The organic seed market is segmented by type i.e., field crops seeds, vegetable seeds, fruits and nuts seeds and seeds of other crops. Modern crop varieties bred for high-input conventional management often do not perform well under organic management because organic crops require different traits. It is estimated that globally 95% of organic production relies on crop varieties bred for conventional systems. Increased research and development of crop varieties adapted to organic management is important to reap full benefit of organic farming. This Book envisions triggering the organic seed chain and encompasses all the essentials of basic principles for production of organic seeds of field and vegetable crops, quality planting material of important horticultural crops, zingiberaceous and other spices, quality spawn production, improved agronomic practices for organic seed production, organic nutrient management, organic insect-pest and disease management for seed production, varietal maintenance and seed production technology under organic farming, household seed security, seed village concept and participatory varietal selection, organic seed certification, and prospects of quality animal production under organic conditions along with national standards for organic production. This Book will benefit plant breeders, administrators, policy makers and importantly the farming community of India.