Agriculture is the art of cultivating plants and livestock, every crop there’s something which is cultivated and then harvested to get food for humans. There is a large variety of crops grown in the fields bearing different types of grains or seeds.
Fruits are often bearded on trees and vegetables and other grains are seeds that are grown in the field every grain or seed has a difference in their appearance, taste, method of cultivation, and type of crop. For example, wheat is different from maize or Jowar.
Grains and seeds can be of several varieties in quality as well, the quality of the produced grain or seed depends upon the fertilizers used for growing the crops, the soil they are grown in and the type of seeds used for their cultivation.
Seed vs Grain
The main difference between seeds and grains is that seed is an ovule that contains an embryo, whereas grain is a fusion of seed coat and the fruit. Both of them provide food but the technical difference between both of them retains.
Comparison Table Between Seed and Grain
| Parameters of Comparison | Seed | Grain |
| Definition | An ovule which contains the embryo. | Product of fusion of seed coat and fruit. |
| Purpose | Growing other plants | Human consumption |
| Components | The seed coat, embryo and endosperm | Bran, endosperm, seed coat, and embryo |
| Food | Embryo | Fruit part |
| Uses | Oil extraction | Making flour and cereals |
What is Seed?
A seed can be defined as an embryonic plant which has an outer protective layer over it. it is generally the heart part of any plant which is edible. Seeds are formed in the process of reproduction in seed-bearing plants. Plants that bear seed are known as spermatophytes.
Seeds consist of three basic parts, those are; an embryo, seed coat, and stored food.
An embryo- it is developed from a fertilized egg while it is inside the seed embryo starts to develop leaf and stem.
Seed coat- it is the covering which protects the embryo from drying until the conditions are favourable for germination.
Stored food- the Stored food is known as endosperm which nourishes the embryo until the seed starts making its food.
Seed formation completes the Reproduction of seed plants which started from the Growth of flowers in the plant. The embryo grows from the zygote and the seed coat Grows from the ovule lined.
Some examples of seeds are Flax seed, Sesame seed, sunflower seed, Chia seeds, hemp seed, etc., every seed has some of the other good qualities which are beneficial for human health to some extent.
Seeds are grown for human purpose, seeds can be used in numerous ways, for example, one of the most general purposes of seed is to get oil from it, some of them are eaten raw and others are used in regular cooking, to add on the taste and fragrance to food, etc..
The seed is nutritious, sometimes few grains are misunderstood as seeds and vice versa, for example, rice is a seed but it is often referred as grain, and the same case is with quinoa, which is referred as a grain but it is a seed.
What is Grain?
Grain can be defined as a hard, dry seed with or without attached hull or fruit layer, which is harvested for human consumption. Grains are also referred to as cereals, or ‘cereal grains’.
Grains are usually harvested from grassy crops, grains grow in a large quantity, they grow in clusters. The grain is usually hard on the outer surface which is often shed during the process of winnowing.
Grains are grown on a large scale and most of them are the staple food of the natives where the grain is grown, for example, wheat, it is grown in northern India and is a staple food for north Indian. Some other examples of grains are barley, maize, millet, etc..
In scientific terms, the grain is the product of the fusion of seed coat and fruit. There are few grains in which the outer shell (the hard portion) is separated from the grain to get the edible seed, for example, peanuts.
Grains provide food from the fruit part of the plant, for example in wheat wherein the food is derived from the ground fruit part of the plant.there are numerous things which are made from grains, for example, chapati, pasta, bread, etc..
Grains are extremely nutritious and have nutritions like dietary fibre, complex carbohydrates, minerals like magnesium, selenium, etc., vitamins, etc.. These nutritions are important for human health as they provide energy to the body.
Grains are classified into two categories like whole grain, and refined grain. Whole grain contains whole grain kernel that is bran, endosperm and germ on the other hand refined grain are milled and proceed in which germs and bran are removed. Whole grains are preferred more than refined grains, as they are more nutritious.
Nowadays people often avoid eating grains like wheat because it has gluten which is sometimes allergic to some people, but it should not be avoided by the people who do not have any gluten allergy.
Main Differences Between Seed and Grain
- The seed is an ovule which contains embryo whereas grain is the product of the fusion of seed coat and the fruit.
- The seed is grown for planting other plants whereas the purpose of grains is to harvest them for human consumption.
- Seeds provide food from the embryo part and grain provides food from the fruit part.
- The seed has three main components like an embryo, seed coat, and endosperm whereas grain has four components like bran, endosperm, germ, and seed coat.
- The seed is used for getting oils whereas grains are used for grinding and making cereals.
Conclusion
Seeds and grains both provide nutrition. They are quite similar to each other but have technical differences.
References
- http://www.publish.csiro.au/AN/EA9890797
- https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.2135/cropsci2011.11.0608