Explanation about the seed and grain

                                                                                     

The seed is the highly compressed and detached structure of a plant that contains a very small plantlet which can grow and form the normal plant.
Matured fertilized ovule or embryo (mature) from which new plants arise. In agriculture, seed means that part of the plant is used or intended to be used for propagation.

• Types of seeds, Agricultural seeds are classified as true seeds and vegetative propagation materials. True seeds, these include cereals, grasses, legumes, and most vegetable. All these are produced from true seeds. Some fruit trees such as mangoes also produced from true seeds.                                                                                                                                                             
• Vegetative propagation materials,  Crops such as cassava, sweet potatoes, and some cut flowers are vegetatively produced through cutting, vines, tubers, corms, or bulbs.                                                                                                                                                                                                       The following are the functions of seed
• Seeds are the single most important agricultural input in crop production.
• Are the primary agents of change in agricultural production because the seed characteristics dictate the cultural management practices needed by the crop including its processing, storage, and transportation.
• Are means of survival of the plant species for example through dormancy and tolerance to dehydration.
• The seed is the source of food and beverages.
• Are a source of medicines and biochemicals, for example, neem trees and castor.
• Are the source of raw materials for agricultural-based industries, for example, cashew nut shell liquid.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              SEED VERSUS GRAIN                                                                                         Usually grain is produced for human or livestock consumption while sees is produced for further multiplication of the variety from a known certified source.                                                                                                                                                                                                              The cultural practices applied in the production of seeds and grains are the same, however, for the former, some cultural practices are modified in order to harvest high-quality seed. When a farmer produces grains, the major aim is to get high yield, while in seed production, both yield and quality are important.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           The following cultural practices are pre-requisites in seed production:
• Selection of land with required cropping history
• Free from sources of seed-borne disease
• Isolation of seed crop from possible contaminants of foreign  pollens of the same species
• Rouging off-types and diseased plants.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      There is a difference in the emphasis  and nature of quality control measures are between seed and grain. In seed production, quality control measures are highly emphasized. After the seed crop has been harvested and processed it  has to be tested for the following quality attributes:
• Analytical( physical) purity
• Genetic (varietal) purity
• Free from weed seeds
• Germination capacity
• Moisture content  percentage and
• Seed health.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Ingrain: determination of moisture content is the most important factor while other quality factors are optional.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    NOTE: As a result of extra care to meet Quality requirements, the seed  is relatively higher than that of grain.
• Seed  it should be  a viable and vigorous one while grain does not need to be a viable one
• Seed should be physically and genetically pure  while grain should not
• Seed should satisfy minimum seed certification standards while grain no need such requirement
• Seed can be treated with pesticide/fungicide to protect the seed against storage pests and fungi while grain it should never be treated with any chemicals since used for consumption
• Seed should be compulsorily certified while  no such condition  in grain
• Seed can be utilized as grain provided if it is not treated with poisonous chemicals
• Seed respiration rate and other physiological and biological process should be kept at a low level during storage while no such specifications in grain