SEED PACKAGING AND HANDLING
After processing and treating are completed, seeds are packaged into containers of specified net weight. Packaging or bagging is essentially the last operation in which seeds are handled in bulk flow. The packaging consists of the following operations:
1.Filling of seed bags to an exact weight.
2. Placing leaflets in the seed bags regarding improved cultivation practices.
3. Attaching labels, certification tags on the seed bags, and sewing of the bags.
4. Storage/Shipment of seed bags.
Equipments used for packaging of seeds
1. The bagger weigher: These are small machines which when properly mounted beneath a bin will fill and weigh a bag accurately in a single operation.
Bagger weigher and bagging scales used in seed packaging may be manual, semi-automatic or automatic.
2. Bag sewing machine: After an open-mouth bag is filled the bag top must be sewed with a bag sewing machine. Bag sewing machines are precision, high speed machines and must be operated and maintained properly to prevent frequent breakdowns and short operating life.
3.Elevating and conveying equipment: Several types of conveyors are available for moving seed into, through, or away from the processing plant in vertical, horizontal or inclined directions. Selection of conveyors that have adequate capacity, do little damage to seeds and are easy to clean and can have an important influence on processing effectiveness and efficiency.
Conveyors used at processing plants can be classified as:
1.Bucket elevators 2. Belt conveyors
3. Vibrating conveyors 4.Pneumatic conveyors
5.Screw conveyors 6.Chain conveyors
7.Lift trucks.
Attaching labels:
At the time of placing seed into bags, a label must be placed on each bag to maintain positive identity of the seed. When bags are closed with a bag sewing machine, a label or tag can be sewn to the bag.
Maximum lot size: The maximum size of seed lot shall not exceed the limits. Each seed lot will be assigned a seed lot no. as specified in the Indian Minimum Seed Certification Standards.
Procedure for construction of lot numbers:
The lot number will have four parts. Each part will signify and conform to the details given as under:
1.First part:
This shall be called the "Month-year code" and will indicate the month and year in which the concerned seed crop was harvested. The month will be represented by its abbreviated form and the year will be represented by the last two digits of the calender year, such as 89 for 1989 A.D., 90 for 1990 A.D., 00 for 2000 A.D., and 01 for 2001 A.D. The abbreviated form to be used each month is given as under:
Month Abbreviated form
January JAN
February FEB
March MAR
April APR
May MAY
June JUN
July JUL
August AUG
September SEP
October OCT
November NOV
December DEC
2.
Second part
This
shall be called the “Production Location Code” and will indicate the State
or Union Territory where the concerned seed field(s) was/were located.
For
this purpose, each State and Union Territory is allotted a permanent numerical
as shown below.
Numerical
State/Union Territory
01 Andhra Pradesh
02
Arunachal Pradesh
03
Assam
04
Bihar
05
Goa
06
Gujarat
07
Haryana
08
Himachal Pradesh
09
Jammu & Kashmir
10
Karnataka
11
Kerala
12
Madhyapradesh
13
Maharashtra
14
Manipur
15
Meghalaya
16
Mizoram
17
Nagaland
18
Orissa
19
Punjab
20
Rajasthan
21
Sikkim
22
Tamilnadu
23
Tripura
24
Uttarpradesh
25
West Bengal
26
Andaman& Nicobar islands
27
Chandigarh
28
Dadra & Nagar Haveli
29
Delhi
30
Daman & Diu
31
Lakshadweep
32
Pondicherry
3. Third
part
This
shall be called the “Processing Plant Code” and will indicate the seed
processing plant where the relevant lot was processed.
For this purpose, the certification department shall allot a number to
each approved seed processing unit.
4.
Fourth part
This
shall be called the “Seed Produce Code”.
It will indicate ultimate serial number of an individual lot.
The procedure for assigning this code will be based on unit of
certification. For this purpose,
the Certification department shall allot a number commencing from 01 to each
unit of certification. However, if
seeds of more than one unit are bulked together then bulked unit will be treated
as one unit. If the quantity of the
seed from one unit of certification exceeds the maximum limit of lot size, it
will be further sub-divided into a separate lot, in such cases Roman numerical
commencing from (i) will be suffixed with seed produce code within brackets.
For example if 586 quintals of paddy seed is obtained from one unit of
certification, it will necessitate the sub-division of the produce into three
separate lots (200, 200 and 186 qtls). If
01 is allotted to “Seed Produce Code”, then sub-divided lots will be
represented as 01 (i), 01(ii) and 01(iii).
The
seed produce code shall be commenced from 01 with effect from 01-04-2002 and it
shall be continued for THREE financial years.
5.All
the four parts of the lot number shall be written in series with a “dash
(-)” between first, second, third and fourth parts to distinctly indicate the
code number of each part.
An
example is shown below:
Lot No: MAR02 – 22
– 10 – 01
MAR
02 Seed harvested in Mar.2002
22-Seed
crop raised in Tamil Nadu
10-
Seed processed in a processing plant identified as number 10 by the Tamil Nadu
State Certification Department.
01-
Seed Produce Code that will trace to the particular unit of certification.
Each
seed lot under Certification shall be assigned a distinct number so as to
facilitate in:
a.
Maintaining its identity
b. Tracing back to its origin
c. Handling in stores, transit etc.
d. Accounting and inventory maintenance
e. Refering / communicating about a certain quantity of seed.