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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.
