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Product information
FOCUS
Seed
Special
27
March 2016
On-farm cover crop seed production:
Is this an option for conservation
agricultural practices?
E
asy access (i.e. affordable and available) to a wide spectrum
of cover crop seed is critical for the continuous improvement
of conservation agriculture (CA) systems, and all possible
options should be considered in this respect.
One such option practised by many CA producers across the world is
on-farm seed production of cover crop species. There are however,
many important factors to take note of when producers consider the
production of seed on their farms.
Agricultural practices for seed production are complex and specie-
specific and therefore it is essential to have the knowledge of plant
traits that affect reproduction. For example, the growth habit (e.g.
erect, prostrate, trailing, determinate and indeterminate), reproduc-
tion biology (e.g. cross- or self-pollination, important pollinators) and
optimum growth requirements are important plant traits that will af-
fect the cultivation and harvesting practices of a cover crop species.
It is important to understand that there are many cultivars protected
by plant breeders’ rights and seed can only be produced under au-
thorisation and strict regulations. Furthermore, while some produc-
ers may choose to grow seed for their own use it must be noted that
in terms of the Plant Improvement Act, 1976 (Act No. 53 of 1976) that
this seed may not be sold ‘over the fence’ to neighbouring producers
or through any other outlet.
Seed regulations
Seed with plant breeders’ rights fall under the Plant Breeders’ Rights
Act (Act No. 15 of 1976) – however, under the so-called ‘Farmers
Privilege’ (Pg. 14, Par. 6) the Act stipulates that ‘Notwithstanding the
provisions of section 23A (1), a person who procured any propagat-
ing material of a variety in a legitimate manner shall not infringe the
plant breeder’s right in respect of the variety if he or she (a) resells
that propagating material (b) subject to the provisions of subsection
(2), sells any plant, reproductive material or product derived from
that propagating material for purposes other than the further propa-
gation or multiplication thereof (c) uses or multiplies that propagat-
ing material in the development of a different variety (d) uses that
propagating material for purposes of bona fide research (e) uses that
propagating material for private or non-commercial purposes (f) is a
producer who on land occupied by him or her, uses harvested mate-
rial obtained on such land from that propagating material for purpos-
es of propagation: Provided that harvested material obtained from
the replanted propagating material shall not be used for purposes of
propagation by any person other than that producer.’
To register any variety or cultivar under the plant breeders’ rights
act, you must be able to prove that it is ‘distinctly different’ than any
other variety or cultivar before it can be registered. Furthermore, it is
extremely important to note, that any other seed not under the plant
breeders’ rights act can be used, multiplied and distributed freely.
However, the moment it is sold, it becomes a transaction and needs
to be registered under the plant improvement act, liable to its rules
and regulations.
The latter types of seeds (i.e. not falling under the plant breeders’
rights act), are the main focus of this article, which aims to set guide-
lines that will help to educate people and help producers to make an
informed decision regarding the use, multiplication and distribution
of seed not registered under the plant breeders’ rights act.
The South African National Seed Organisation (SANSOR) is an ex-
tremely important organisation that protects and upholds the quality
through certification and trade of commercially produced seed. They
have the authority to manage all functions relating to seed certifica-
tions on behalf of government, including the National Seed Certifica-
tion Scheme in addition to international seed schemes such as the
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD),
the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies (AOSCA) and
Southern African Development Community (SADC). When under-
standing the complexities and intricacies of producing good quality
seed, the importance of using certified seed is invaluable.
Seed quality is critical
The germination potential of seed, i.e. the seed’s ability to produce
a normal seedling under ideal conditions, is used as a measure of
seed quality. Other qualities such as high seed vigour, genetic purity,
disease-free and uniform seed, add value to the seed lot.
Seed vigour refers to the ability to germinate under less ideal con-
ditions and to produce a strong seedling and genetic purity to the
inherent traits of a cultivar such as maturity date, resistance to in-
sects and diseases and nutritional value.
On-farm produced seed can be screened for its germination ability
before planting by using the following procedure:
Use a plastic container lined with wet paper towels and place
100 seeds evenly on the paper.
Store the container in a cool place, out of direct sunlight and
moisten paper daily or as needed.
Count the seed that germinates between five to seven days.
Count only healthy looking seedlings that show no sign of
disease.
A germination percentage higher than 80% for most species
should be a rough indication that an acceptable percentage of
seed will germinate. Legume seeds might need some kind of
seed treatment such as scarification due to hardseededness be-
fore testing.
Good quality seed improves the chances of successful establish-
ment of a crop and its harvest. Seed generally falls into the following
quality categories:
WAYNE TRUTER,
University of Pretoria,
HENDRIK SMITH,
Grain SA and
GERRIE TRYTSMAN,
ARC-Animal Production Institute