Groundnut seed production manual.

In spite of the involvement of public sector seed producing agencies in groundnut seed production, the varietal seed replacement rate in the crop in developing countries remains low. This restricts the full benefit of varietal improvement research reaching farmers. Thus, the productivity of the crop remains low in most of the developing countries. Low seed multiplication ratio, bulky nature of the produce, quick loss of seed viability, self pollinated nature of the crop and low profitability of the seed production system discourage private sector’s involvement in commercial seed multiplication of this crop. This situation can improve only when farmers, nongovernmental organizations, and public sector agencies participate more vigorously in seed production of this crop. This manual provides basic information about the crop, formal and informal seed production systems and processes, and crop husbandry to enable farmers and others to take up formal or informal seed production of improved varieties of groundnut.