Seeds Produced in Iran among World's Top 20 Varieties
“Our company is the only producer of hybrid sugar beet seeds in the country and operates in three areas of production of hybrid sugar beet seeds, production of hybrid vegetable and summer vegetables - specially cucumber and tomato - and also coating seeds to increase germination and resistance to pests and diseases during the germination stage,” said Majid Valadan, the managing director of an Iranian knowledge-based company.
“At present, we are the only Iranian company producing sugar beet seeds, while 11 companies operate in this field worldwide, stationed in several world states, including Germany, England, the Netherlands, Belgium and France,” he added.
“277 foreign seed varieties have been imported to the country and assessments show that domestic seeds are among the top 20 varieties. Even many foreign seeds are lower in quality than the domestic ones,” Valadan said.
In a relevant development in June, an Iranian knowledge-based firm had also succeeded in producing 67 varieties of hybrid seeds which helps food security in agricultural industry.
“So far, seven of the 11 varieties under research have entered the market, and 67 different varieties of these products have been registered and received seed certificate,” said Maryam Golabadi, the chairwoman of the board of directors and deputy director of Research and Development of the knowledge-based company and a faculty member of Islamic Azad University’s Isfahan branch.
“Our products include greenhouse cucumbers, greenhouse tomatoes, outdoor tomatoes, greenhouse peppers, watermelons, and melons,” she added.
Noting that the yield of these seeds is much higher than traditional seeds in terms of quality, product uniformity, and harvest rate, Golabadi said, “Of course, the exact amount of yield increase depends on several factors like the type of greenhouse, the ability of the farmer, and farm management.”
“Farmers are fully aware of the superiority of these seeds, and in Iranian greenhouses, there is practically no cultivation of non-hybrid seeds,” she added.
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