Forage Seed Production in Ethiopia. Challenges and Prospects

Seminar paper from the year 2021 in the subject Agrarian Studies, Hawassa University, language: English, abstract: This term paper aims to investigate challenges and prospects of forage seed production in Ethiopia. Seed production of forage species is a much earlier and less developed stage in the tropics and subtropics than in temperate regimes. Many of the current tropical forage cultivars were developed 50 years ago. Most of these grasses come from species new to agriculture. They have not undergone long period of domestication through hybridization and selection. Instead, they still retain many 'wild characteristics' - attributes which aid their natural spread but pose difficulties for their commercial seed production. All of this poses a challenge to seed producers who must decide where the various crops should be grown for seed, the best management strategy to apply in each case and when and how they should be harvested to maximize seed yield and quality. Forage seed productions in tropical regions are characterized by variable production. Seed yield instability of the species may be a consequence of the contrasting environmental conditions that occur during the vegetative and reproductive growth of the crops.