Organic seed health. An inventory of issues and a report on case studies.

Summary

This report describes the state of the art and research results on the production of heathy organic seeds, as performed in the frame of the LIVESEED project, with support from the European Horizon 2020 program.
Organic seed health is based on a multitude of factors and cannot simply be managed through one-size-fits-all solutions such as curative seed treatments.
Use of seeds produced under organic conditions can also have benefits, as organic soils may have a richer and more diverse microbiome and part of this microbiome enters the seed during development. Although much more research is needed, there are indications that certain microorganisms in this seed microbiome play a role in tolerance of the emerging seedling toward biotic and abiotic stress in the field.
In the frame of the LIVESEED project, case studies have been performed on some of these issues, with the aim of providing background information and tools to tackle them.