Survey to Assess the Quality of Groundnut Seeds Sowed by the Farmers of Tiruvannamalai District of Tamil Nadu

Abstract

A drill-box survey was carried out during 2020 in three villages in Thurinjapuram and one village in Thandrampattu of the Tiruvannamalai district with the objective of determining the seed quality of groundnut sowed by local farmers. Ninety samples were collected, but 31 samples (34.44 %) were TMV-7, 58 samples (64.44 %) were TMV-13, and one sample was VRI-2. This indicated that TMV 13 is the primary variety being grown (Red kernal type). The Hollow-heart symptoms were a symptom that boron content of the soil is low, which is meant to reduce germination. The symptoms of hollow heart might be anywhere from 0% to 20%. The prevalence of hollow-heart symptoms was highest in Randam and Thenkarambalur villages. Furthermore, dark-plumule seeds were a smptom of calcium deficit in the soil, which is intended to reduce germination. In 90 samples, this symptom was reported by nearly all of the villagers, ranging from 0 to 20%. The importance of germination percentage in determining seed quality: only 53 samples (58.90%) were found to exceed the minimum necessary to seed certification of 70%. The percentage of diseased seeds in the samples ranged from 3-22.5 percent; the village of Vallivagai in Thurinjapuram Block had the highest infection rate. These findings imply that the quality of groundnut seed sown by farmers in Tamil Nadu's Tiruvannamalai area was excellent. However, farmers must be better knowledgeable about the importance and advantages of using high-quality certified seeds and must receive training in maintaining seed quality by using pre- and post-harvest methods to harvest high yields of the desired varieties.