The 26th Annual Breeder Seed Review meeting and 38th Annual Group Meeting of AICRP on Seed (Crops) was organized at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore on 09.05.2023 by ICAR - Indian Institute of Seed Research, Mau and Seed Centre, TNAU, Coimbatore. The gathering was welcomed by Dr.M.Raveendran, Director of Research, TNAU, Coimbatore. The progress of AICRP on Seed (Crops) 2022-23 was presented by Dr.Sanjay Kumar, Director, ICAR-IISS, Mau and Dr.D.K.Yadava, ADG (Seed), ICAR, New Delhi, the guest of honor offered his remarks. He emphasized that the role played by public sector in production and supply of quality seeds has to be increased by implementation of special programmes. Dr.V.Geethalakshmi, Vice-Chancellor, TNAU, Coimbatore said that Department of Seed Science and Technology of TNAU which was established as first of its kind in the year 1972 in India has completed 50 Glorious Years and celebrating Golden Jubilee. She congratulated all the scientists who worked with dedication since inception which eventually has led to the growth and development. The Vice-Chancellor emphasized that seed is the basic input in agriculture and also the first link in the food chain. The efficacy of all other agricultural inputs is dependent on the quality of the seed. The increase in supply of quality seed is therefore very crucial to ensure the food security of the nation.
She also expressed her heartfelt thanks to Dr.Sanjay Kumar, Director, ICAR-IISS, Mau for giving the opportunity to Seed Centre, TNAU, Coimbatore to host the Annual Group Meeting on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee celebration of the Department. She also mentioned the three important technologies namely, seed coating, seed pelletting and seed cube technology released by TNAU.
The publication on the Glimpses of Annual Report 2022-23 of AICRP on Seed (Crops) was released by the dignitaries. The Best Centre Awards and distribution of certificate for technology development was announced. The host institute TNAU receives the Best Performance Seed Technology Research Centre Award 2022-23 and Best Performance Quality Seed Production Centre Award 2022-23 was received by CSKHPKV, Palampur (SAUs Category) and ICAR - IIMR, Ludhiana (ICAR Category). The retired scientists of Department of Seed Science and Technology, TNAU, Coimbatore were honored by the dignitaries on the dias as a part of Golden Jubilee celebration. The presidential address was delivered by Dr.T.R.Sharma, Deputy Director General (CS), ICAR, NewDelhi. Finally Dr.R.Umarani, Director, Seed Centre, TNAU, Coimbatore proposed the vote of thanks. Around 250 scientists working on seeds participated in the meeting.
As a part of this event, a grand expo on Advances in Seed Technology was arranged in which various Directorates of TNAU, private seed companies, private firms pertaining to seed processing machineries, crop inputs, seed storage and artificial intelligence displayed their technologies and products. The scientists across the country, farmers and students of TNAU viewed the exhibits and gained knowledge on seed production, seed processing and seed storage.