Читать книгу Dry Beans and Pulses Production, Processing, and Nutrition - Группа авторов - Страница 41

Seed of all new varieties needs to be multiplied for distribution to commercial growers. Most states in the US adhere to a four‐class system of breeder, foundation, registered, and certified seed production. Michigan follows a three‐class system, as the registered class is not recognized in the state. Breeder seed is owned and controlled by the originating universities or institutions, whereas seed of other classes is multiplied under strict state, local, and federal laws guiding the production of these seed classes. Field crop inspections ensure the genetic integrity of the variety; free from contamination with other bean varieties, or other crops or weeds; and freedom from seed‐borne diseases. A large portion of bean seed in the US is produced in the semiarid western states, where many seed‐borne pathogens of bean are not endemic. This ensures that high‐quality, disease‐free certified (blue tag) seed is available to growers at some increase in cost due to transportation, as the largest majority of dry bean production is located in the Midwest, Upper Midwest, and intermountain regions (Figure 2.1). Seed is distributed to growers through company elevators in these states and the same elevators purchase back the production at harvest at either contracted or free market prices.