ICAR-DGR, Junagadh organized an Interface Meeting on “Production and availability of quality groundnut seeds in the country” with private groundnut seed producing companies of Gujarat on 19.06.2023. Representatives of 11 seed companies participated in the meeting, beside two experts Dr. J. B. Patel and Dr. N.D. Dholaria, from JAU, Junagadh.
The programme started with welcoming of delegates followed by brief introduction and theme of the meeting by Dr. Praveen Kona. The Director, ICAR- DGR explained about the scenario of seed production of groundnut and importance of the meeting to promote the availability of quality groundnut seed to farmers. He urged all the participants to share their views and Breeder seed requirements for next year. All the firms shared their inputs on production constraints, as well as variety wise requirement of Breeder seed excluding DAC indent. It was observed during the discussion that private groundnut seed producing companies produce and supply about 40-50% certified/truthful labelled groundnut seeds in Gujarat.
The following points emerged from the deliberation:
1. Majority of farmers in Gujarat are preferring GG 20, TAG 24, GG 2, TG37A, GJG 9, GG 10, GJG 32, GJG 22, TG 39, and TPG 41 of which GG 20 and GJG 32 occupy the major area.
2. The Certification Committee is certifying only 20 q/ha production only which needs to be enhanced to 30q/ha as most of the recently released varieties have yield potential of >30q/ha. This will help in increased availability of the breeder seed in the State.
3. Mostly, Java and Semi Java types of groundnut are considered for export, besides few limited varieties are recommended for peanut butter production and roasted kernel purpose.
4. All the participating seed producing companies are interested to procure breeder seed of GJG-32, Girnar-4 and Girnar-5 directly from JAU and ICAR-DGR, respectively and will submit their demand for 2024-25 to the Director, ICAR-DGR, Junagadh.
The programme ended with vote of thanks.

Source: ICAR-DGR, Junagadh