The use of certified seed is certainly one of the most important elements of grain production technology, but in Poland, grain producers make little use of certified seeds. Sowing seeds from your own propagation is possible and commonly practiced. Both approaches have their supporters, and regardless of the strategy, when preparing for sowing, you should take care not only of the quality of the seed, but also remember the regulations.
Certified seed has many benefits
Certified seed material is subject to official control and assessment, thanks to which the farmer is certain that he is sowing seeds that are pure in terms of variety, free from contamination and diseases and pests transmitted by the seed material, with a known germination capacity. By purchasing certified grain seed material, we provide plants with a healthy and dynamic start thanks to professional dressing with fungicide seed dressings, usually with the addition of seed fertilizers. Sowing certified seed material of new grain varieties allows for the use of biological progress and the latest achievements in plant breeding, for example in the field of genetic resistance to diseases.
As we read in the NIK report from 2018: "Poland ranks last in the European Union in terms of the share of certified seed in cereal sowings". Depending on the data source, the average share of certified seed in the total amount of cereal seeds used for sowing in recent years is estimated at 20-25%. Producers of wheat and barley (especially spring forms) are most willing to buy certified seed. The low degree of use of certified seed in cereal sowings results, among other things, from the significant share of small farms in their production and/or low level of agricultural technology. The need to incur additional costs for the purchase of certified seed raises concerns about the profitability of production. The quality of the purchased seed is also a frequently discussed issue.