Pollination, nutritional and Irrigation Requirements for Seed Setting

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 Pollination is carried out by different biotic and abiotic agents.

Biotic agents:

(animals, insects)  Hymenoptera (bees, wasps and ants) and Diptera (flies) for onion and carrot crops.

Abiotic Agents:

wind

The population of pollinators is affected by various agricultural practices, such as pesticide sprays, the availability of alternate natural flora, and the climatic conditions (temperature, rainfall, and wind speed) of the area. 

Seed producers must ensure adequate populations of pollinators or place artificial honeybee hives on the perimeter of the seed production field after two to three days of pesticide spray (George 2009).  Planting wind-pollinated crops, such as sweet corn, which improves the microclimate. 

Nutritional and Irrigation Requirements for Seed Setting

 High nitrogen application 

rates delay flowering and decrease seed dormancy and thus shorten the storage life of seed .

Phosphorus application at higher rates 

 to increase number of flowers.

 potassium 

has role in improving quality of seed, especially when applied in combination with nitrogen during seed/pod filling.

Similarly, calcium and trace elements (especially boron) have important role in successful seed setting, germination and seed vigour. Deficiency of specific elements cause crop specific disorders and also renders the crops susceptible to diseases. 

Irrigation requirements for seeds setting:

Drought stress 

during seed filling decreases the germination percentage 

Plants growing in soil with adequate moisture, if provided with supplemental irrigation during anthesis, produce more number of seeds per pod (silique, fruit, capsule, etc.) of large size, and ultimately the seed yield. Supplemental irrigations are more beneficial in those crops where root activity is reduced during flowering, for example the plants of leguminosae family

Water stress during seed maturation, particularly last 5 to 15 days, has beneficial effect because it helps to switch the seed from developing phase to germination phase and decreases or increases dormancy in several species.