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

Preface
In the last few decades, the international
exchange of plant germplasm
(seed) has increased tremendously.
Global cooperation to boost food
production and combat hunger has
revolutionized agricultural production
and, at the same time, has increased
the risk of introducing exotic
pests and pathogens. Consequently,
the quarantine officials’ job has become
increasingly complex and challenging.
Quarantine personnel deal with a
wide range of outgoing or incoming
plant and other materials, their
pathogens, and other undesired objects
accompanying them. It has become
difficult, if not impossible, for
the limited number of people working
at quarantine stations to know
intimately the bizarre group of organisms
associated with the various
crops that frequently pass through
them.
Thus, specialists dealing with specific
crops and pathogens should
publish all relevant information. The
publications should be geared to
help the users, be they scientists or
tradesmen, allow safer, uninterrupted
movement of germplasm.
Yet, this type of publication is unavailable
for many crops which are
exported.
Rice is exchanged widely for both
scientific and commercial purposes.
Shortly after its founding, the International
Rice Research Institute
(IRRI) started exchanging seed for
scientific purposes. In recent years,
these exchanges have occurred with
increasing frequency. Between 1985
and 1990, IRRI dealt with 936,547
seed lots (IRRI’s Seed Health Unit
data). Many other organizations are
engaged in seed exchange for scientific
purposes. There is enormous
movement of seed for commercial
purposes.
This manual compiles important
information relating to common
seedborne rice diseases and rice seed
contaminants, details of the causal
organisms, and methods of detecting
their presence.
The manual has three major divisions.
Part I discusses the importance
of seeds, their health, and the
risks involved in seed exchanges;
reviews the historical development
of quarantine systems; and describes
rice plant morphology and ecosystems.
Part II describes laboratory
equipment needed for assessing rice
seed health; samples and sampling
methods; dry seed inspection; detection,
isolation, and identification
methods for fungi, bacteria, and
nematodes; viruses and
mycoplasmalike organisms (briefly
mentioned); and methods for field
inspection and seed treatment. Only
methods pertinent to assessing seed
health for quarantine are included.
Part III describes the pathogens and
the diseases they cause.
Appendix 1 contains sample recording
sheets. Lists of media, stains,
and reagents are given in Appendix
2 and some recipes for preparing
them. Appendix 3 is a glossary of
terms used in this manual. References
cited in the text are listed before
the appendices.
We hope this manual, and our approach
to seed health, will help the
readers assess rice seed health properly.
However, no work can claim to
be complete. There is always room
for correction and/or amplification.
We intend to update and improve
this manual in the future, and thus
ask that you send us suggestions and
comments that will make future editions
more complete and more useful.