Seed Production 95
a maximum number of female plants (Saran et al. 2014c). This can be accomplished
in two ways. Either he should be able to identify their sex in the nursery stage or he
should plant at least three seedlings at each place during transplanting of papaya
in the field. The latter technique involves thinning out the male plants at the first
expressing of sex, a rather cumbersome method.
8.4.4 Non-Availability of Quality Seed
Seed is the most potential factor determining successful cultivation of papaya. Mostly
the seeds are procured by majority of the farmers from nurseries of local market
which have the mixture of different local types. The mixed seeds are being sup-
plied to growers under different names. Under the prevailing conditions, the purity
of seed is generally not reliable. Ironically, there is no organisation like, State Seed
Corporation or National Seed Agency in the country which produces and distributes
genuine papaya seed to growers. Only a few agricultural universities and research
centres in the country are dealing with papaya.
8.5 Seed Certification
The purpose of seed certification is to maintain and make availability to the pub-
lic, through certification, high-quality seeds and propagating materials of noti-
fied kind and varieties so grown and distributed as to ensure genetic identity and
genetic purity. Seed certification is also designed to achieve prescribed standards.
Certification is conducted by the Certification Agency notified under Section 8.8
of the Seeds Act, 1966. Certified seed producer means a person/organisation that
grows or distributes certified seed in accordance with the procedures and stan-
dards of the certification. Seed of only those varieties which are notified under
Section 8.5 of the Seeds Act, 1966 shall be eligible for certification (Trivedi and
Gunasekaran 2013).
8.5.1 Clone Certification Standards
The general seed certification standards are basic and together with the following
specific standards constitute the standards for certification of papaya seed. Land
to be used for clonal propagation of papaya shall be free from volunteer plants. A
minimum of three inspections should be made, the first before flowering, the second
during flowering and fruiting stage and the third at mature fruit stage for the harvest-
ing of fruits for seed extraction (Trivedi and Gunasekaran 2013).
8.5.2 Field Standards
The clone propagation plots of papaya, isolated from the contaminants, are 1500 m
and 1000 m under foundation and certified classes, respectively. A maximum limit
of off type plants, 0.1% in foundation and 0.2% in certified classes at and after flow-
ering, has been permitted. Other seed standards are given in Table 8.1 for both the
classes.