Understanding The Role Of Seed Enhancers In Seed Treaments

Seed enhancement refers to seed treatments that improve germination, seed growth or accuracy of planting. Seed enhancements include products for priming, pelleting, coating and conditioning of seeds. Today, most seeds are coated with a polymer that is mixed with the seed treatment product or applied to the seed as a final coating, according to CropLife America’s “The Role Of Seed Treatment In Modern U.S. Crop Production.” These products are not regulated by EPA as pesticides and do not have pesticidal activity.

Polymers serve a number of functions in seed treatment:

Advertisement
  • Improve seed coverage of other seed treatments on the seed surface;
  • Aid in the application of biological seed protectants to the seed;
  • Aid in conditioning the seed to separate viable and non-viable seed;
  • Improve the cosmetic appearance of seed and assist in identifying GM seed;
  • Establish a barrier between the seed treatment chemicals and the seed to improve the safety of the seed treatment;
  • Reduce friction and abrasion of seeds during storage and planting;
  • Reduce dust-off from treated seed so there is less residue in seed bags and from pneumatic planters; and
  • Improve planter drop of seeds while sowing.

Seed pelleting is the process of coating seeds with inert materials to change their size and shape for improved plantability. It has long been utilized to make individual seeds of certain crops uniform in shape and size and help the planting equipment achieve a more uniform stand and spacing of crop plants in the field. Small and irregularly shaped seeds, such as lettuce seeds, can then be handled as larger, round-shaped pellets.

Top Articles
TFI: Phosphate and Potash Are Critical Minerals, Senate Bill to Solidify

0
Advertisement