During October 15 – 19, 2023, a 5-day Workshop on “Seed Testing for Quality Assurance” has been successfully implemented under the aegis of the Indo-German Bilateral Cooperation on Seed Sector Development and the International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) in cooperation with the ICAR-Indian Institute of Millet Research (IIMR) and Telangana International Seed Testing Authority (TISTA) in Hyderabad. The 5-day technical programme covered two main areas:
- Part 1: Quality Assurance & ISTA Accreditation
- Part 2: Technical & Practical Aspects on Moisture, Germination and Physical Purity Testing
24 participants of public and private Seed Testing Laboratories (STLs) of India attended the training programme. Most of the participants have been quality managers of ISTA member labs in India which intend ISTA accreditation.
With Dr. Keshavulu (India), President of ISTA and Director Telangana State Seed & Organic Certification Authority (TSSOCA), Dr. Craig R. McGill (New Zealand) and Dr. Joël Léchappé (France), former Presidents of ISTA and Technical Auditors of ISTA, Dr. Florina Palada, Head of ISTA Accreditation & Technical Department (Switzerland), Dr. G.V. Jagadish, former head and advisor of the ISTA accredited seed laboratory of Indo-American Seeds in Bengaluru and Dr. Malavika Dadlani, former President of the Indian Society of Seed Technology and member of the ISTA Vigour Committee, an outstanding team of international and national trainers supported the workshop. The workshop was organized in the new ISTA accredited seed testing lab of TISTA in Hyderabad. TISTA provided excellent conditions & support for practical demonstration & exercises on moisture, germination and physical purity testing. ISTA Accreditation verifies whether a laboratory is technically competent to carry out seed testing procedures in accordance with the ISTA International Rules for Seed Testing. Accredited laboratories must run a quality assurance system, fulfilling the requirements of the ISTA accreditation standard. In some countries/distinct economies of the world, the import of seed is only permitted if the seed lot is accompanied by an ISTA Certificate www.seedtest.org/en/accreditation/accreditation-benefits-1109.html .
The Indo-German seed project is part of the bilateral cooperation programme of the German Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL). The consortium charged with conducting this bilateral project consists in Germany of ADT Project Consulting GmbH (ADT), the Sortenförderungsgesellschaft mbH (SFG) and the German Plant Breeders’ Association (BDP).
