**10. Empowerment of state seed sub committee**

There are some rights which have been provided by the Central Seed Committee for proper functioning of seed chain in respective state in India. These empowerments are-


Being agriculture as a state subject in India, centrally released varieties are not directly accepted by all the states for which they have been released. Each state has its own regulatory system which they have to follow for varietal release in the state. They have to pass through all the steps of the concerned state release procedure before they approve for cultivation in the state *viz*., state wise multi-location trials for three years and adaptive trials based on the requirement. The notification requires that the variety must have been tested at least for one year in the AICCIP trials and recommended for release in the state by the AICCIP Varietal Identification Committee.

## **11. Necessity of notification**

Since only notified varieties will be under the purview of Seed Law Enforcement, hence it is necessary to bring the seed of a particular crop variety under notification system. The seed inspector can only draw a sample from notified variety for analysis and ensure the seed quality [10, 11]. A released variety cannot come under seed chain without notification by the Gazette of India. Therefore, these issues will make the notification as necessary requirement for other things to act on it. The notification is made by the Central Government on the recommendation of the Central Seed Committee. Thus, notification is prerequisite for production of certified seed which ensures high quality of seeds to the farmers. After notification, variety becomes asset of government of India. The breeder seed can only be produced after the notification of variety and notified varieties enter into seed chain. Notification also helps in the genesis of original variety based on its pedigree and also regulates any kind of infringement in the later stages of varietal promotion.

### **12. Denotification of varieties**

Released varieties can be denotified if they are not performing well in the area of their adoption or have been in cultivation for more than 15 years or are not much in demand. Denotification can be done based on the recommendation of central seed committee by the government of India.

### **13. Conclusion**

There are several ways and means to increase the crop production and productivity, however using genetically pure and high-quality seed is first and prime objective in agriculture. Therefore the variety which will be used by farmers must have undergone several evaluations in order to ensure its stable yield potential, tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses and these criteria are being fulfilled by a legal varietal release system. The main objective of the varietal release system in India is to introduce newly developed, high yielding varieties to the farmers for broad-spectrum cultivation in the area of their adoption and only those varieties will be notified which are superior to existing one. It provides choice to the farmers to cultivate a specific variety, based on their need for crop diversification. In India, the systemic framework has helped farmers to get high quality of seed from market and production has increased many folds since the inception of AICCPs. Notification is mandatory to release a variety, though the release process itself does not have legal cover.

### **Acknowledgement**

Authors acknowledge Director, ICAR-Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute and Project Coordinator, ICAR-All India Coordinated Research Project on Forage Crops and Utilization for their assistance, guidance and funding.

*Varietal Release, Notification and Denotification System in India DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.94212*
