Site selection

for
Forage seed production

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Site selection

unfavorable environment
• flood
• fire
• drought
• frost
• strong wind
• high temperature

2
Site selection

Objective: to aim for the site that

could give the highest
seed yields

Issues
– is a site well suited for seed
production ?
– what are the factors that lead to
high
– seed yields at a given site ?
3
Site selection

• seed production site should be in

the most favorable locations so as:
• to have full expression of
cultivar/accession characters
• to have good harvest conditions
• to obtain the highest possible yield

4
Crops grown

• the conditions which promote good

crop grown for vegetative parts
such as stem, leaves and roots are
not conducive to seed production.
• vegetative phase needs more water
whereas seed production
(reproductive phase) favors low
rainfall or drier areas.

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Site selection factors

in deciding the location of seed

production, two of the major
environmental factors to be taken
into consideration are:

• Climate
climate includes:
» Light
» Temperature
» Rain
» Water
• Soil 6
Light

• in many plant species, the initiation

of flowering is influenced by day
length
• switch from the vegetative to
reproductive phase can occur only at
the season when the days are of a
particular length.
• if not plants may either remain in
the vegetative phase or reproductive
phase.

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Light

day length
• decides whether flower will occur or
not
• floral initiation depends
» short – day
» long – day
» day neutral
• most grasses and legumes grown in
the tropics
and sub-tropics are either day-
neutral or short
day plants
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• long day plants are rare outside
Light/sunlight energy

• another variant of light is the

intensity of radiation which is
dependent on the amount of cloud
cover through out the year
• radiation effect is more marked in
short day species than in long day
conditions
• sunshine provide suitable conditions
for pollination and promote grain
filling, drying and ripening of seeds

9
Temperature

Effects
• influences the switch from the
vegetative to reproductive phase
• influences crop development- yield
and quality of seed
• influences soil conditions at sowing
time –establishment
• Promote growth in the vegetative
phase

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Temperature

Effects
• determines the final yield
• flowering, pollination, seed
setting and ripening are all
favored by warm weather
• ripeness at harvest is more
important for seed crops than
for food crops

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Temperature

• some crops have a chilling or low

temperature requirement
Caution: too high temperature-
• may inhibit the development of
ovules and fruits
• may cause shedding of flower buds or
young fruits (pulse, cotton)
• too low temperature may cause frost
incidence

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Rainfall

• species productive life is influenced

by moisture supply
• seed crops require ample water in the
vegetative phase followed by
relatively dry period for the
reproductive phase.
• rainfall influences the water supply
to the roots and to the atmospheric
humidity

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Rainfall

• different crops may have different

requirements for rainfall
• 4-6 months wet season allows to
produce the necessary strong
vegetative framework for heavy seed
crop
• 800- 2000 mm rainfall range for seed
production or year round irrigation
facility to ensure reliability of
seed production

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Rainfall

• in dry areas, supplement rainfall by

irrigation
• irrigation has the added advantage to
control the water supply thus
avoiding excesses as well as
deficiencies
• more rain in the reproductive phase
means increase risk of diseases
• moisture stress promote vigorous
reproductive growth

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Wind

• strong wind during the

reproductive phase can cause
severe crop losses through
•Lodging
•Shattering
•seed shedding
• lodging is aggravated by heavy
rain

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Site selection

summary
• good / suitable rainfall
• match suitable land with suitable
climatic conditions
• freedom from weeds, volunteer crops
• irrigation availability
• knowledge of previous cropping
history
• avoid shattering crops
• clean fallow land is ideal

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Soil

unfavorable conditions
• inadequate moisture
• deficiencies in nutrients
• water logging: poor aeration
• low pH (acidity)
• high pH (alkalinity)
• salinity

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Soil

unfavorable conditions
• shallowness
• texture
-crusting
-hardening
-stoniness
• physical loss of soil
• extreme soil temperature
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Soil loss

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Stoniness

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Soil shallowness

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Inadequate soil moisture

23
Soil

• soil is one of the major factors

influencing plant growth
• soil provides physical
conditions for root development
• soil provides anchorage and
supplies the inorganic nutrients
and moisture

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Soil

• soil should be the best

• should be fertile –neither acid nor
alkaline
• should be deep, well drained to avoid
water logging
• heavy soil is slow to warm up at the
start of the growing season and this
soil can delay early growth and
subsequent maturity

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Soil

• for forage crops, a highly fertile

soil encourages excessive vegetative
growth
• for seed production, a soil of medium
fertility is preferred
• soil should have an adequate mineral
status
• for high yield, supplement by
fertilizer containing N,P,K

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Soil

improvement
• fertilizer application
• soil amendments
• drainage
• irrigation

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Species adaptation

• some species are adapted to a wide

range of soil types and range of
temperatures
• some have narrow natural distribution
• some adapt to swampy, seasonally
flooded conditions
• while others to low fertility acid or
alkaline soils

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