Seed Production Sector
The Seed Production Sector is engaged in the activities of organisation and control of the production of basic and commercial seed, as well as seed harvesting, drying and processing. The main goal is to produce top-quality seed compliant with high demands of both local and international markets. This is the only way of achieving the hybrid yield potential and being distinguished at producer fields.
Basic and Commercial Seed Production Department
The production of hybrid seed is dependent on the production of basic seed of parent lines. The scientific work on improvement of basic seed production of the ZP maize hybrids and application of modern achievements have been continually carried out from 1945 to date. Pre-basic seed is multiplied in field and technical isolations, whereas the basic maize seed is produced in larger quantities only in field isolations.
According to base qualitative rules of seed production set forth by the Seed Law, the Institute implements the ZP commercial seed production procedure. The main goal of such production is to obtain reproduction material with high biological value and genetic purity, since only in this way, the genetic potential of breeding results may materialise and become distinguished at producer fields.
Main elements of successful production are planning, selection of land plots-producers, sowing system selection according to the genotype to be produced, planning and implementing cropping practices, removal of atypical plants and harvest.
The activities of the Department may be divided in the following segments:
- Organisation of the production of maize, soybean and small grain seed
- Seed production control
- Organisation of seed harvesting, drying and processing
- Placing of orders for seed processing
- Monitoring of the quality of seed drying and processing
The seed genetic purity, from all field isolations from previous production season is analysed in field conditions as winter generation by Biotest in Chile and in Zemun Polje in the following year. Moreover, the genetic purity is analysed by the method of electrophorese at the Seed Testing Laboratory of the Institute.
Seed Processing Department
Drying and processing at the Institute is technologically and technically adjusted to seed quality preservation, avoidance of seed damage and good triage of healthy and representative, genetically pure hybrid seed.
The Processing Centre Zemun Polje is primarily engaged in processing of the following seed crops:
- Maize
- Wheat
- Soybean
- Barley
The entire process from receiving and drying to processing and packaging of the seed is automated. Seed maize is calibrated to 2 fractions and packed in 25,000 seed bags for local market and at buyer’s request for international market. Special attention is paid to the prevention of damage and loss of grain during reception, drying and processing. At the processing centre, a charge duster is used for precise seed treatment by fungicides and insecticides, and therefore, each seed is treated by equal dosage, thus decreasing later dispersal when sowing. The drying and processing plant has the processing capacity of 5000 tons of seed, and the drying capacity is 300 tons. There are continual technological innovations and equipment modernisation in line with market requirements. The storage capacity in silos and warehouses is 7.000 tons.
The Processing Centre Zemun Polje is positioned highly conveniently for all types of transport:
- Railway into the warehouse
- 1 km away from the motorway Belgrade-Novi Sad
- 15 km away from the Nikola Tesla airport
- 20 km away from the Belgrade river port
Production Department in Zemun Polje and Krnješevci
Core activities of the Production Department are the following:
- Plant production at farms in Zemun Polje and Krnješevci,
- 1.120 ha of arable land,
- Multiplication of lines and experimental hybrids and varieties of maize, soybean, wheat, barley and triticale.
