Good quality seeds

After preparing the soil by ploughing, a farmer selects good quality seeds to sow. Clean and healthy seeds of a good variety are called good quality seeds.

Watch the video below to see how a farmer selects seeds.

SELECTION OF SEEDS

To select good quality seeds, keep all the seeds in a container filled with water. We observe most of the seeds sink at the bottom and some seeds float on water. The seeds damaged by microbes or insects become hollow and float on water. The seeds that sink in water are good quality seeds.

Sowing

After selecting good quality seeds, a farmer sows them. The process of scattering seeds in the soil is called sowing.

• Sowing can be done manually by hand or by using tools (agricultural implements).
• Scattering seeds by hand is called broadcasting.
• When seeds are scattered by hand, they cannot be sown with proper spacing and cannot be placed at proper depth.
• As a result, the seeds on the surface of the soil can be easily picked up by birds.
• Proper distance between the seeds is important to avoid over-crowding of plants. Spacing helps plants to get sufficient sunlight, nutrients, and water from the soil.