Research tittle:

Cotton Crop Improvement through Maintaining Seed Quality during

Production and Storage

MUHAMAMD KAMRAN2005-ag-1737

Department of Crop Physiology

University of Agriculture, Faisalabad

Supervisory committee

• Dr. Irfan Afzal (Chairman)

• Dr. Abid Mahmood (Co-supervisor)

• Dr. Shahzad Maqsood Ahmed Basra (Member)

• Dr. Sultan Habib Ullah Khan (Member)

COURSES

MAJOR COURSES

• C.phy-702SEED PHYSIOLOGY

• C.phy-705POST HARVEST PHYSIOLOGY

• C.phy-718PHYSIOLOGY OF HALOPHYTES

MINOR COURSES

• Biotech-703MOLECULAR GENETICS

• PBG-717PLANT BREEDING FOR STRESS ENVIRONMENTS

Problem statement

2009-10

2010-11

2011-12

2013 Exp

012345 4.2 3.79

2.683.4

Prod

uctio

n (m

bal

es)

Causes of low productivity are

Low availability of Irrigation water Low germinationFlood damagePest attackHigh Input Prices

(PCGA, 2013)

Punjab Seed Corporation and Seed Association of Pakistan have demanded that the Federal Government may consider lowering the germination standards to 50% so that farmers can get certified cotton seeds.

(PCGA, 2013)

Germination

75%

55%

Factors victim to seed inferiority The Stress (biotic and abiotic) during Seed Development

directly affect seed quality (Choinski and Trelease, 1978)

The improper and uncontrolled storage dragged the seed to deterioration (MosaviNik et al., 2011)

Early sowing (Low temperature) delayed the emergence of cotton (Chu et al.,

1991)

Temperature

Moisture

Soil structure

Soil temperature

Ambient temperature

Thermal germination modeling approach• Cultivars

• Bt (FH-142)• non-Bt(FH-942)

•Incubator = Temperature regime of 16 to 38 0C•Field = Fortnight sowing from March to Jun

Minimum and maximum temperature for maximum germination count will be recorded (Saturt et al., 2006)

Experiment I: Optimization of sowing time for Bt and non-Bt cultivars by thermal germination modelling approaches

Flowers once fully open will be tagged to indicate seed developmental stages. Seeds at 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 days after anthesis (DAA) and when mature will be isolated for morphological, physiological and molecular evidences

(Choinski and Trelease, 1978)

Image J software(Hongyan Xie, 2011)

Video meter(Rhino research group, 2012

QTL mapping

Seed length, width

Embryo length

Boll length and width

Fungus affected or undeveloped part

Biochemical analysis(Basra et al., 2003)

Infected

RNA will be extracted from developing seeds. The genetical genomics approach integrates traditional QTL mapping to explore the sequence of genes expressed during embryogenesis (Bassel et al. 2011, Plant Cell)

X Ray Imaging (Machado, C.F.,2002)

F.A. and Lipid profile

Morphological

physiological

Molecular

Dry weight Accumulation

Chlorophyll Florescence

Experiment II: Investigation of Seed Quality Losses during Development

Picking

Drying

Storage

Sun drying Forced air dry Drying Beads

Conventional Cold (10oC) seed=+Dry beads

Picking times•4 pickings (Sep. to Dec.)

(Abdelrahman et al., 2002)

Experiment III: Advancements in Post Harvest Seed Handling

The conventional drying methods will be compared with novel drying beads technology. In this technology cottonseed will be mixed with the drying beads (1:1) for an hour in air tight container besides spreading openly on mercy of uncertain environment or drying by forced air. After drying seed undergoes Conventional, Cold and Drying beads storage. Quality of seed will be assessed fortnightly by computing longevity and vigor by seed longevity equation and Accelerating aging test respectively during storage.

Expected outcomes

☺This proposal equip the research with physiological and molecular markers of seed quality that can be used for breeding programs and biological approaches

☺Optimization of pre and post-harvest factors that will improved the cottonseed quality

☺Cotton is an important cash crop for Pakistan known as “white gold”. So improved seed quality will built a pavement towards increasing area under cultivation, value added (8.2%) in agriculture and GDP (3.2%)

Cotton : From planting …..

To next planting - Always a challenge!

THANX