Suchergebnisse

grown in our homeland, there management practices for successful seed production is also differed. In this context vast information is available but all are in discrete manner. In this book effort has been made to accumulate all the aspect viz. agronomy, botany, seed technology, plant breeding and genetics.

seed storage, seed testing, seed certification, seed quality control and seed marketing etc., through which the genetic and physical characteristic of seeds could be improved. Each topic was discussed in separate chapter and this book will prove extremely useful to its readers.

From the sociology of science perspective, this paper attempts to trace the shifts in the knowledge and its application in the context of seed production—the central input in agriculture. The paper argues that the seed production, which was once in the hands of farming communities, has become industrialized with the advent of hybrid seeds. The hybrid seed production, based on phenotypic knowledge of the plants, marks the first phase of the industrialization of seed and the genetically modified seed, based on genotypic knowledge of the plants, marks the beginning of another phase in the industrialization of seed production. This paper draws attention to controversies over genetically modified seed based on economic, social, environmental considerations. This paper also discusses the implications of these developments and the changes in the institutional arrangements that govern the production and use of the seed, as these developments have profound implications for Indian agriculture and agrarian relations.

This paper presents results of a 1995 survey of 864 maize-growing households in six states that account for more than 70% of India's maize area: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. The current adoption of improved open-pollinated maize varieties (OPV) and hybrids is quantified, the relationship between adoption of improved germplasm and use of improved crop management practices is examinated, the economic impacts of adoption are estimated, farmers' seed procurement and management practices are described, and implications for maize research and development policy are discussed. On the whole, the survey results confirm that India's national maize seed industry is expanding rapidly. Since seed policy reforms were introduced in the late 1980s, the area planted to improved OPVs and hybrids has grown rapidly, and adoption of improved germplasm has fueled important changes in farmers' crop management practices. However, special policy measures may be needed to ensure that the benefits of improved germplasm are widely shared, such as the introduction of targeted input subsidies designed to reduce the cost of adopting improved seed and complementary inputs, government investment in irrigation infrastructure to reduce production risk in drought-prone environments, and market developmet initiatives to provide small-scale producers with access to stable and reliable outlets where they can sell surplus grain.