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Egyptian clover/Berseem ( Trifolium alexandrinum L.) is the most popular winter leguminous multi-cut fodder crop widely cultivated in the northwest and central parts of India. Quality seed significantly impacts farm productivity, farmers' profitability, and socioeconomic welfare. Foundation and certified seeds enable high-quality seed production, making breeder seed (BS) the most important link in the seed supply chain. In India, berseem BS indent had increased from 1998 - 99 to 2012-13; afterwards, it followed a constant but decreasing trend. Of the 27 notified cultivars, 24 came into the seed supply chain between 1998-1999 and 2021-2022, indicating high varietal availability to stakeholders. The study examines the potential causes of the national decline in BS indent and production and the differences in these figures over time. The highest BS indent was received for the variety JB-1 (276.1 q), followed by BL-10 (205.1 q), Mescavi (165.6 q) and Wardan (153.7 q) from 1998 - 99 to 2021-22. The varietal replacement rate (VRR) is high, 43.30 %, for the varieties that have reached the age of five or less in the recent three years (2019-20 to 2021-22). Additionally, it has been calculated that if the seed chain operates at 100 % efficiency, the BS generated (48.1q) in 2021-22 can cover an area of almost 0.12 million hectares in 2024-25. The study offers an in-depth overview of berseem BS indent and production, an analysis of the difficulties encountered in BS production, and future directions for expanding variety and producing excess BS in the nation., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Lucerne ( Medicago sativa L.) is the second most significant winter leguminous fodder crop after berseem in India. Breeder seed (BS) is the first stage of the seed production chain, as it is the base material for producing foundation and certified seeds. In India, lucerne BS demand has been reduced by 85.58% during the last 24 years (1998-1999 to 2021-2022), declining from 2150 kg to 310 kg. Out of 14 varieties released and notified so far, only nine varieties entered the seed chain since 1998-1999. It shows narrow varietal diversification and, hence, needs robust breeding programs towards enriching genetic variability and varietal development. The present study also highlights the disparity in BS demand and production over the years and puts forth the possible reasons behind the reduction in BS demand and production in the country. Out of the nine varieties, the BS demand of Anand-2 (53.11%) was highest, followed by Type-9 (19.44%) and RL-88 (13.60%). Varietal replacement rate (VRR) was found to be moderate, i.e., 23.67% for the varieties having <5 years old age in the last 3 years (2019-2020 to 2021-2022). It has also been estimated that BS produced (233 kg) during 2021-2022 can cover the approximate area of 6,300 ha at farmers' fields in 2024-2025 if the seed chain functions 100%, effectively. The present study provides a holistic overview of lucerne BS demand and production, challenges in BS production, and the way forward to develop more varieties and surplus BS production in the country., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Chand, Roy, Singh, Agrawal, Yadav, Kumar, Malaviya, Chandra and Yadava.)