Post Harvest Management Strategies and Storage Approaches for Quality Seed Production

Post harvest management includes the processes done immediately after harvesting the produce, including cooling, cleaning, sorting and packing. After the crop is harvested immediately from the field, there is a high chance of deterioration due to its initial high moisture content. Therefore postharvest treatments are given to increase its shelf life and maintain its quality. In terms of cleaning and upgrading of cereal seeds, winnowing fans are used for separation of unwanted materials particularly weed seeds, straw, rice husks, panicle stalks, empty and damaged grains, sand, rocks, rocks, dust, plastics, and even metal and glass particles. The moisture content of the harvested seeds at the initial stage should be dried in the range of 20-23%. Whereas the moisture content at the final stage of drying should be maintained at 13%. If not properly dried, the seed gets infested with insects early and the germination percentage of the seed lot deteriorates fast. Another important operation after drying is grading which helps in the removal of smaller and shrivelled seeds from the well filled healthy seeds. In order to maintain vigor and viability of the stored seeds, seed treatment is considered to be an essential step which includes application of fungicides, pesticides, insecticides or a combination of these in order to disinfect and disinfest seeds from seed borne or soil borne pathogenic organisms and storage insects. For the control of storage insects and pests, fumigation is done particularly with Aluminium Phosphide and Methyl Bromide. Hence, in order to maintain proper management and storage of seeds, seed moisture and temperature are considered to be the most important factors for maintaining and retaining quality of seeds particularly vigor and viability of the stored seeds.