CONTRACT / Organic Production

CONVENTIONAL HYBRID SEED PRODUCTION

Plantgene does contract production of hybrid vegetable seed – tomato, pepper, eggplant, cucumber, melon, watermelon, squash/pumpkin and okra. Seed production is in south India near Bangalore. We have numerous customers in the US, South America, Europe, Africa/Middle East and Asia.

In hybrid vegetable seed (stock seed is supplied by our overseas customers) net-houses are used for tomato, pepper, eggplant and cucumber. Production of hybrid melon, watermelon, squash/pumpkin and okra is in open field, with plastic mulch and drip irrigation. The production area is near Bangalore.

We start with strict control on parent seed and rigorously monitor quality from planting and harvesting through processing and bagging.

Quality assurance personnel visit our seed growers throughout the growing season to supervise the planting, cultivation, crossing, harvest and transportation of the seed crop. Their objective is to guarantee adherence to Plantgene’s high field condition and seed quality standards. After harvesting, our experts continue to examine and test seed as it goes through various processes during seed conditioning. 

The seed is transported from the production fields to a conditioning plant in Hyderabad. Each seed lot is tested before conditioning and shipment. The seed is dried, cleaned, sized, treated, bagged and prepared for shipment to our overseas customers.

THE PLANTGENE ADVANTAGE

The production of hybrid vegetable seed is a labor-intensive process. Since cytoplasmic male sterile lines are not usually utilized in vegetable seed production, emasculation and pollination have to be done by hand. The daily wage for farm labor in India being relatively low, Plantgene offers a massive advantage in terms of low-cost seed production. 

Another advantage offered by us is the possibility of producing seeds almost round the year. South Indian weather is moderate, except for a few summer months in March-May. 

CERTIFIED ORGANIC SEED PRODUCTION

Plantgene and Urmatt (http://www.urmatt.com) have a collaboration for certified organic vegetable seed production in northern Thailand. With an employee base of 2000 farmer families and 20,000 hectares under management, Urmatt is the leading organic cultivation group in Thailand. Among other interests, the Urmatt group is the largest organic Jasmine rice producer in the world.