Seeds are an essential input into organically-certified agriculture but their specification is sometimes unclear and their verification difficult. They must be produced under organic (or at least sustainable) conditions, for a minimum of one generation, in the case of annual crops, and two generations in the case of biennial and perennial crops. “Agroecological” seeds, not just those certified as organic, may be suitable depending upon the view of the Certification Body.
This review (open access) discusses the specifications and requirements for seeds used to raise certified Organic crops. It lists characterisation differences with conventional seeds that have been proposed for different crops and the hypothesised causes of these differences (for example, higher glucosinolate levels in organic brassica seeds due to plant defence mechanisms in low-input systems). It discusses all of the uncertainties and compounding factors such as genetic, regional and climate variations, and the development of chemometric classification models.
The authors collate state-of-the-art knowledge on organic seed production, including agronomic, regulatory, and market traits. They synthesize major analytical approaches to assess organic seed authentication, highlighting the potential of intrinsic compositional features through fingerprinting strategies as complementary tools from the traditionally used techniques based on physicochemical and physiological parameters (e.g., vigour, germination, purity).
They conclude that there is still a challenge in the practical application of academic research. The use of holistic approaches, such as omics, is limited by costly instrumentation and complex data processing. Advancing this field requires translating these findings into accessible tools by using the identified markers.
Photo by Wolfgang Weiser on Unsplash
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