Nath Biogene undertakes seed production in over 30,000 acres of land with about 25,000 farmers in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamilnadu. The production staff keeps a close watch on the quality at all stages of seed production to ensure that only those seeds which meet the stringent quality control standards reach the processing centres of the company.

The company has elaborate seed processing facilities at Aurangabad, Coimbatore, Medchel (AP) and Munipally (AP) for ginning, delinting, processing, treating, packing and storage of seeds. The seeds received from farmers are processed to achieve quality standards which surpass those prescribed by the regulatory authorities. The company also has processing arrangements in Gujarat, Karnataka, M.P. and Rajasthan on custom basis.

Nath Seeds have well-equipped laboratories at Aurangabad for quality control of all its seed lots. The seeds are checked for germination, physical and genetic purity, moisture content and vigor before packaging & sending to marketing centers. The quality control department also does Grow Out Test (GOT) in 400 acres of land to ensure that all the seed lots are of highest genetic purity.

A team of agricultural scientists, comprising of plant breeders, agronomists, entomologists, pathologists, extension specialists, seed technologists and biotechnologists, some of the best in the country, work relentlessly to develop new crop varieties, helping millions of Indian farmers to enhance productivity and harvest a good crop. The R & D team remains in close contact with our nation-wide network of marketing personnel, so as to maintain close contact with the ground realities and farmers’ ever-changing requirements. Over 72 hybrids in different crops with higher yield potential, resistance to disease and insect pests, and appropriate quality parameters, have been developed during the last 25 years of the Company's existence. The recent approval by the Govt of India, of three Bt cotton hybrids, one each for North, Central and South Zone, is a major accomplishment of the R&D programme. The process of product development involved multi-location trials and large scale trials, running into several hundreds. Besides two large (> 40 Acres) Research Farms, one at Isarwadi (about 35 kms from Aurangabad) and another just close to the R & D laboratories at Aurangabad, the R & D programme has six sub-stations across the main agro-climatic regions of the country. These Trial and Testing (T & T) Centers serve the critical purpose of rigorous assessment in the process of product development and quality control. An exclusive Rice Breeding Centre has been established at Hyderabad. The R&D activities of the company attract attention of large number of farmers, as also dealers and distributors of seeds and agri. technologies. Also, every year, the R & D Centre offers training to a large number of deserving graduate and post-graduate students, of the neighboring States in general and Maharashtra state in particular. Collection and Characterization of germplasm lines, from national and international sources, is a major activity of R & D Programme. Nath Biogene, independently as well as jointly with our sister organization Global Trangenes (India) Ltd, have forged R & D linkages with several renowned institutions in the world. Main objectives of the R&D centre: i) Collection, Evaluation and utilization of germplasm for all the target crops such as Cotton, Paddy, Maize, Bajra, Jowar, Sunflower, Mustard, Wheat, Castor and Pigeon pea. iii) To develop elite genetic stocks, breeding lines and products conferring enhanced resistance/ tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. iii) Major emphasis for development of F1 hybrids is in Cotton, Paddy, Maize, Bajra, Jowar, Sunflower, Mustard and Pigeon pea.

Please see activities in detail under the R & D.

Specialised Facilities

ELISA

We have highly specialized ELISA testing facility, where thousands of qualitative and quantitative Bt protein estimations of our own test materials from field trials and Bt cotton seeds. The services of this facility are also extended to our the sub-licensees of the GTL's fusion-gene Bt technology.

Insectary

The Gene-Bank

Our germplasm collections, both indigenous and exotic, are one of the best in the country and cover all our target crops. Germplasm collection, characterization and conservation started about 25 years ago, just about the same time when the R & D Centre was established, soon after the original Company, Nath Seeds Ltd was started in the same year (1981).