Assistant Prof. Dr. Ahmed Chyad Ali

Department of Field Crops / College of Agriculture / University of Anbar

      The importance of seed technology is highlighted by the fact that it establishes scientific methods for seed production, harvesting, testing, packaging, storage and marketing, as the goal of this science is to prepare high-quality seeds, meaning seeds of high-yielding varieties, and varieties resistant to diseases and insects, in addition to increasing agricultural production through Providing high-quality seeds and ensuring the rapid multiplication of the seeds of the desired varieties, and this technology will provide the seeds at the right time, that is, before the planting season and at reasonable prices.

    The focus of the modern world has shifted from "what does it produce?" To "what and how to produce?" , or from "What do we learn?" To "what and how do we learn?" Because information changes, there is no point in storing it in our minds compared to acquiring the skills of thinking, researching, identifying and solving problems. The power of technology is in managing and employing it, not in owning it. From here emerged the definition of technology as a way of thinking and solutions to problems through the optimal use of scientific knowledge and its applications to satisfy human needs and increase his capabilities, that is, it is a means and not a result.

     Seed technology is concerned with studying the processes of seed production and marketing, that is, studying the post-harvest maturation processes, seed storage processes, and the preservation of seed varieties from the conditions of storage, transportation, and numbers to produce healthy, valid seeds at high rates of cultivation. This means that high-quality seeds are one of the most important inputs to the development of agriculture that It was not the most important in the first place. The main purpose of storing seeds is to keep the seeds from one season to several seasons, and the seeds go through several stages before storing them, which are harvesting - drying - cleaning - fogging - packing and then storing. In all these stages, it must be taken into account that these seeds contain embryos waiting for their turn to grow to complete another season, and they are of good quality. Seeds of this quality cannot be stored unless they have passed the risks they are going through in all previous stages.

    The strength of the seeds and the percentage of germination are at their highest in the stage of physiological survival, then the deterioration begins and continues with time until the seeds die. The seeds are after several weeks of maturity and can remain viable for several years if they have the ideal conditions for storage. As for the age of the seed, it varies according to the type, and the weather and environmental conditions that it passes before storage have an effective effect on storage capacity, and here it is necessary to address the activation of Seeds, which is one of the common treatments to reduce the time between planting seeds and seedling emergence, as it leads to acceleration and homogeneity of germination and field emergence, as well as improving field establishment (obtaining optimal plant density) under a wide range of environmental conditions, and reducing bush competition and damage to other agricultural pests Early ripening and homogeneity in ripening, which results in reducing losses during harvest and thus increasing the yield. It enables vegetable plants, flower plants and some field crops to obtain the most possible amount of soil moisture, nutrients, solar radiation and early maturity to reach the maximum possible yield and the best quality, but it does not increase the total germination (total germination).