Agriculture Minister Mahmoud Hojjati says plans are underway to produce different varieties of hybrid seeds inside the country, including those for water intensive crops like melons and tomatoes, in a bid to reduce water consumption and improve production. Visiting Haamoon Corporation in Qazvin, the country’s first producer of hybrid seeds, Hojjati added that as much as $200 million is spent on imports of such seeds annually, Mehr News Agency reported. Haamoon Corporation is a multipurpose agricultural company dealing in agribusiness and production of hybrid seeds and greenhouses. The company has registered four types of hybrid vegetable seeds so far. Hybrid seeds are produced by cross-pollinated plants. They improve the characteristics of the resulting plants, such as better yield, greater uniformity, improved color and disease resistant.
