Seed Stock

Seed Stock 

in the USSR, the supply of crop seeds for planting. Selected seeds of regionalized varieties from harvested seed plantings or, as an exception, from high-yielding commercial plantings are maintained. The stock is completed no later than a month after the crops have been harvested. The size of the main seed stock is determined by the farm (kolkhoz or sovkhoz) on the basis of seeding rates and sowing schedules. The seeds are kept in dry, clean, and disinfected storehouses. The stock’s condition and use are carefully monitored. Insurance seed stock, about 10–15 percent, is also kept by farms in case the young shoots die or the crop fails. Transient seed stock guarantees the sowing of winter crops. The insurance seed stock is renewed every year, that is, it is exchanged for newly harvested seeds.