Quality of seed in India is legally controlled by the Seed Act, 1966.
According to this Act-
- All seed of notified varieties sold to farmers must meet the minimum standards of germination and physical purity.
- Seed should be packed in a suitable container and label has to be affixed on the container.
- Information about germination, physical purity, variety, date of test, name of the seed producer has to be mentioned on the label.
- The germination standard provided on the label is valid for nine months from the test date, after which it has to be revalidated for six month after re-test.
- The sample of the seeds of the notified variety should be sent to the Seed Testing Laboratory for analysis of germination and purity.
- In case of any legal disputes, the reference sample is sent to Central Seed Testing Laboratory, Division of Seed Science and Technology at IARI, New Delhi, whose results will be final.
