ABSTRACT
Food, feed, and fiber are the basic and essential requirements of humans and animals and have made agriculture one of the most important primary industries in many countries. The seed industry is a part of this great primary industry of agriculture, comprising all of the complex interlocking operations necessary to ensure a regular supply of uniformly high-quality seeds to farmers and horticulturists. According to Thomson (1), the seed industry cannot be studied in isolation, because its different operations bear a complex relationship to the social, economic, and political structures of any country. The rapid increase in agricultural productivity to meet an everincreasing demand for food, feed, and fiber necessitates adequate input, both in terms of materials (seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, growth regulators, irrigation water, farm machinery and equipment, and energy) and services (research, extension, training, marketing, transport, and credit). High-quality seed is the most critical ingredient upon which all the others depend for their full effectiveness. The seed industry is a specialized business and undertaking operated by experienced, knowledgeable personnel who have been specially trained. The farmer or grower is only one member of the seed industry, which consists of home gardeners, market gardeners, truck growers, florists, vegetable processors, food technologists, and merchandisers.
