Hybrid seeds are becoming increasingly popular in India. But that is not good news; here is why

Subject: Environment

Section: Pollution

Fiji disease virus (FDV):

FDV belongs to the reoviridae family and infects plants. It is one of the few plant viruses in the Reoviridae family.
The type species of the genus Fijivirus, it is the only known member of Fijivirus group 1.
Fiji disease virus is named after the country in which it was originally observed.

What are hybrid seeds?

In agriculture and gardening, hybrid seed is produced by deliberately cross-pollinated plants which are genetically diverse.
Hybrid seeds are used to improve the characteristics of the resulting plants, such as better yield, greater uniformity, improved color, disease resistance. An important factor is the heterosis or combining ability of the parent plants. Crossing any particular pair of inbred strains may or may not result in superior offspring.

Hybrid seeds in India:

The origin of hybrids can be traced to India’s Green Revolution in the 1960s, when the government’s effort was primarily to increase agricultural productivity. For this, the National Seed Corporation was set up to develop, store and distribute high yield variety seeds.
Till the 1980s, the public sector had a firm control on the seed market and supplied open pollinated variety (OPV) seeds to farmers.
From the 1990s onwards, the government allowed development and distribution of hybrid varieties by private players.
This trend has continued, but poses a threat to the country’s crop diversity and the traditional varieties that are more suited to the local climates.

Increasing demand for hybrid seeds:

Over the decades, the popularity of hybrid seeds has been increasing among farmers in India.
Hybrid varieties get ready for harvest quickly as compared to traditional varieties (these are handpicked by farmers from the field after harvest for use next year, and the process can be replicated for generations) or the open pollinated variety (OPV) seeds (these are mostly developed by agricultural universities and can be used for five to seven years).
The quicker harvest quality of hybrid seeds gives farmers a window to sow short-duration crops, such as potato, between two crop cycles.
The 25th report of the Standing Committee on Agriculture says that in India, hybrid seeds are mostly developed and sold by national and multinational private sector firms, and that the share of private sector in India’s seed market has increased from 57.3 per cent in 2017-18 to 64.5 per cent in 2020-21.
A 2019 report by Indian Council of Food and Agriculture says that the country’s seed market reached a value of US $4.1 billion in 2018, registering a growth rate of 15.7 per cent in 2011-18, and is expected to grow at 13.6 per cent in 2019-24, reaching a value of US $9.1 billion by 2024.
Wheat and paddy account for about 85 per cent of this seed market.
Of the two crops, hybrid seeds are only available for paddy in India, and occupy about 6 per cent of the country’s 44 million hectares under rice.

Disadvantages of hybrid seeds:

Sensitive to temperature and rain unlike the traditional varieties. Example: a local wheat variety called goda dhan even grows in areas with severe water shortage.
Rise in cases of crop failure of hybrid varieties.
The yield of hybrid seeds decrease after 2-3 years.
Price fluctuations as the control of price is in the hands of manufacturers of the hybrid seeds.
Lack of support from the government, for example: In 1993, the government launched a OPV paddy variety called PR-Indira. It had a yield that matched hybrid varieties and was quite popular. But it was suddenly taken back in 1998.
Hybrid seeds damage the diversity of crops. The great genetic diversity of crops were replaced by a narrow genetic range of crops.
Sometimes the yields of hybrid varieties are exaggerated.
The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001, has changed community ownership of seeds to individual, which favours seed breeders and developers.

Source: DownToEarth