Fruits & Vegetable Seeds in South Sudan are being viewed as a high growth Industry. Most of the seeds normally remain viable for 2 or 3 years when stored under good conditions. Therefore, only buy seeds from seed firms of known integrity. High-yielding and high price seeds should have 90% germination potential. For germination of seeds adequate moisture, temperature and aeration are essential. The temperature requirement for various fruits and vegetable seeds varies markedly which may vary from high to low depending on the optimum temperature requirement for that particular fruit or vegetable seed. The optimum temperature for germination varies between 4℃ and 40℃. The sown seeds absorb moisture and swells, after which the vital activities in the seeds start taking place. These vital activities include respiration in which the energy is supplied and oxygen is utilized thus, for oxygen supply aeration is essential. Excessive supply of water leads to poor aeration and hinders the seed germination.
The seed treatment is the very first step of seed sowing where in first treatment, the surface of seeds are disinfected using calcium hypochlorite, mercuric chloride and bromide water which helps in eliminating the harmful microorganisms disrupting the germination process.
The second seed treatment uses hot water, formaldehyde and mercuric chloride for elimination of harmful organisms present within the seeds. In the hot water treatment, the dry seeds are immersed in hot water at 45 to 55℃ for a time period of 10 to 15 minutes. In the third seed treatment, fungicides are used to protect the seeds from soil fungi. View More