Producing high-quality organic vegetable seeds

A three-year (2005–2008) program conducted by FNAMS, CIVAM Bio de l’Aude, ACTA, SNES GEVES, and INRA tested four key actions to improve organic vegetable seed quality: monitoring of open-field and cold-frame seed crops, seed quality assessment, mechanical weeding trials, and physiological studies of weeds, including base temperature thresholds for germination. Over one hundred crop plots were visited in major French production areas, revealing that practiced agronomic methods generally produced satisfactory seed quality. Yet controlling bioaggressors such as onion downy mildew, bean bacterial diseases, and pea weevil remained challenging. High technical skills and elevated production costs constrain the number of qualified organic seed growers against growing market demand.