THU Plans To Supply Quality Seeds To Farmers

HYDERABAD: Sri Konda Laxman Telangana Horticultural University is formulating a strategy to supply quality seeds to horticulture farmers across the state to boost yields and enhance profits, Vice Chancellor Dr Danda Raji Reddy announced on Friday. He was addressing a meeting at the university’s college premises in Rajendranagar.

Dr Raji Reddy flagged the high cost of seeds, particularly for traditional and hybrid vegetable varieties, as a major hurdle and called on seed producers and government agencies to ramp up efforts in producing and distributing high-quality seeds to meet farmer demand. He said the university was working on seed varieties resilient to climate change and pest infestations.

He added that seeds for local leafy vegetables—often required in small quantities for kitchen and backyard gardens—would also be made easily available.

Jagadishwar Reddy and Ramesh Reddy from the National Seeds Association highlighted popular vegetable crops in market demand. Former agricultural university research director Dr T. Pradeep discussed the challenges of quality seed production in vegetable farming. Representatives from the National Seeds Corporation confirmed their readiness to distribute vegetable varieties developed by the university and government institutions to farmers.

Key officials present at the meeting included university registrar Dr Bhagavan, director of research Dr Lakshminarayana, technical adviser Dr Sunandini, head of the Vegetable Research Station Dr Anita Kumari, seed certification and production personnel, horticulture officers Shekhar and Rajendranagar, associate deans Dr Prashanth and Dr Saidayya, and scientists Preetam Goud, Nikhil and Suresh.