Identification of Suitable Seed Storage Places in India on the basis of Temperature and Relative Humidity Conditions

Abstract

The viability of seeds during storage may be affected by a number of separate, but interacting factors. However, seed moisture or relative humidity of the atmosphere and storage temperature are the two most important factors influencing seed viability. Therefore, data on mean relative humidity and mean temperatures for the last 30 years (1931-60) for few important towns in 14 states have been analysed. For short term seed storage (up to 8 months or one planting season) 70 per cent RH and 30°C have been considered as the upper limit for minimizing the loss in seed viability. Based on these informations, Delhi, Ludhiana and Jaipur have been classified as good Indore, Coimbatore, Poona, Varanasi, Bareilly, Hyderabad and Sonegaon as moderate; Patna, Bangalore, Bombay, Cuttack and Calcutta as poor and Trivandrum, and Gawhati as very poor places for short term seed storage. Experimental data on 9 crop seeds have been presented to show that Delhi is a good place for seed storage under ambient conditions.