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A manual of rice seed health testing - IRRI books - International Rice ...

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CHAPTER 1<br />

<strong>Rice</strong> <strong>seed</strong> <strong>health</strong> and quarantine<br />

J.K. Misra, T.W. Mew, and S.D. Merca<br />

What is <strong>seed</strong><br />

The term <strong>seed</strong> connotes both immature<br />

and mature fertilized ovules,<br />

and <strong>rice</strong> <strong>seed</strong> generally refers to the<br />

whole fruit (caryopsis). However, for<br />

purposes <strong>of</strong> this <strong>manual</strong>, <strong>seed</strong> will<br />

refer specifically to mature ovules<br />

that contain an embryo, and <strong>rice</strong><br />

<strong>seed</strong> will refer only to the <strong>rice</strong> grain.<br />

Seed history<br />

Seed, the germ <strong>of</strong> life, has received<br />

worldwide attention due to global<br />

agricultural cooperation and the increasing<br />

need to develop good, highyielding<br />

food plants. Good <strong>seed</strong>s are<br />

essential to good crop production.<br />

They are today’s treasure and the<br />

hope for feeding future generations.<br />

Our nomadic ancestors gathered<br />

<strong>seed</strong>s. Neolithic farmers planted and<br />

cultivated food crops. They<br />

selectively collected <strong>seed</strong>s <strong>of</strong> plants<br />

that suited their environments. They<br />

brought <strong>seed</strong>s when they moved.<br />

Thus, they helped spread crop plants<br />

to different parts <strong>of</strong> the world.<br />

Agriculture and animal<br />

husbandry diffused from centers in<br />

the Middle East and Asia to other<br />

parts <strong>of</strong> the world. Beginning in the<br />

17th century, people brought cereal<br />

crops to the New World. Europeans<br />

returned home with maize acquired<br />

in Mexico. Numerous American<br />

crops were moved through Europe<br />

to Asia, while Asiatic and European<br />

crops were introduced into the<br />

Americas.<br />

Farmers and enthusiastic plant<br />

lovers initiated plant and <strong>seed</strong><br />

selection. During the late 19th and<br />

early 20th centuries, scientists<br />

followed suit.<br />

Seed exchange<br />

Since its inception, <strong>IRRI</strong> has been<br />

conscious <strong>of</strong> the need for a <strong>rice</strong><br />

genebank large enough to permit<br />

crop improvement. As <strong>of</strong> 1990, <strong>IRRI</strong><br />

had collected and conserved about<br />

82,000 varieties <strong>of</strong> <strong>rice</strong>. This huge<br />

collection was achieved through the<br />

efforts <strong>of</strong> <strong>IRRI</strong> scientists with the<br />

collaboration <strong>of</strong> and donations by<br />

many national centers.<br />

Samples are cared for by the<br />

<strong>International</strong> <strong>Rice</strong> Germplasm<br />

Center (IRGC). IRGC sends out as<br />

many <strong>seed</strong> samples as it receives.<br />

IRGC multiplies incoming samples<br />

and conserves the germplasm to<br />

meet an ever-increasing demand<br />

from researchers the world over.<br />

Other <strong>IRRI</strong> divisions and<br />

programs, such as Plant Breeding,<br />

Genetics, and Biochemistry; Plant<br />

Pathology; Entomology; Agronomy,<br />

Plant Physiology, and Agroecology;<br />

and the <strong>International</strong> Network for<br />

Genetic Evaluation <strong>of</strong> <strong>Rice</strong> (INGER,<br />

formerly IRTP), also disseminate<br />

germplasm. The Plant Breeding,<br />

Genetics, and Biochemistry Division<br />

multiplies improved <strong>rice</strong> germplasm<br />

in various stages <strong>of</strong> development<br />

and disseminates them among<br />

researchers and farmers. The<br />

divisions sent 1, 411, 261 <strong>seed</strong> packets<br />

<strong>of</strong> breeding materials to 87 countries<br />

from 1983 through 1990. Seed<br />

movement to collaborative countries<br />

was boosted further by the<br />

introduction <strong>of</strong> shuttle breeding<br />

projects for better germplasm.<br />

Since its inception in 1975, INGER<br />

has undertaken a vigorous, farreaching<br />

<strong>seed</strong> exchange program to<br />

evaluate different germplasms under<br />

varying <strong>rice</strong>-growing environments<br />

around the world. Through this program,<br />

<strong>IRRI</strong> has worked with more<br />

than 800 <strong>rice</strong> scientists from 75 countries<br />

in Asia, Latin America, Africa,<br />

North America, Europe, and Oceania<br />

(Seshu 1985). Seventy-five percent <strong>of</strong><br />

INGER’s outgoing nursery varieties<br />

are tested in Asia. Thus, INGER has<br />

proved an effective link through<br />

<strong>seed</strong> exchanges among regional, national,<br />

and international scientists.<br />

INGER’s activities will increase in<br />

the future (Chang et al 1988).<br />

The importance <strong>of</strong> <strong>seed</strong><br />

<strong>health</strong><br />

Seed <strong>health</strong> refers primarily to the<br />

presence or absence <strong>of</strong> disease-causing<br />

organisms such as fungi, nematodes,<br />

bacteria, viruses, and insects.<br />

Physiological conditions such as<br />

trace element deficiency may also<br />

affect <strong>health</strong> (ISTA 1985).<br />

Seed <strong>health</strong> is crucial to crop<br />

production. Seed is an important<br />

exchange material for farming, <strong>seed</strong><br />

production, and research at national,<br />

regional, and international levels. At<br />

the international level, <strong>seed</strong><br />

exchanges help create new varieties<br />

<strong>of</strong> crops and materials for research.<br />

With the exchanges comes the<br />

danger <strong>of</strong> introducing pests and<br />

pathogens. These hazards may<br />

accompany, adhere to, or be inside<br />

the exchange material.<br />

Safeguards are needed to stop the<br />

spread <strong>of</strong> pests and pathogens while<br />

allowing safe, uninterrupted <strong>seed</strong><br />

movement. The safeguards include<br />

rules, regulations, import permits,<br />

phytosanitary certificates,<br />

inspections, treatments, isolation,<br />

passage through quarantine<br />

greenhouses, <strong>seed</strong> <strong>health</strong> <strong>testing</strong>,<br />

and other measures which have been<br />

adopted at national and interna-

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