Research & Development
Seed Solution’s strong R&D focus has been the cornerstone of a host of new coating products introduced into the Australian market. See below for details of some of our past projects.
Trial 3014 – Onion ProGrow
Background: Seed treatment has the ability to deliver significant beneficial properties to the emerging seedling. Applications of highly effective fungicides and nutrients are known to increase vigour and growth in seedlings but direct application on seed can result in severe phytotoxicity. The angular shape and surface of Onion seed makes it difficult to achieve accurate, evenly spaced planting through traditional field and nursery planters, so pelleting is a natural option for this seed. Onion is also a very water sensitive species requiring a pellet to control the delivery of moisture to the germinating seed and with good respiration capacity. Given the relatively low value of onion seed a pellet needs to be economically attractive, but has the opportunity of supplying the grower with additional benefits to assist seedling growth. Nutrient additives specifically tailored for Onions at the seedling stage, combined with an effective chemical suite, could allow for significantly increased yields compared to the 200,000+ tones of Onion currently produced annually in Australia
Aim: Develop a pellet to increase Onion seedling growth and vigour while aiding precision placement of seed in the field and nursery.
Results: Using a specifically designed pelleting formulation a 2-2.5mm diameter pellet was developed with no reduction in seedling emergence. A powerful fungicide suite were carefully applied into an area of the pellet where direct seed contact was reduced, thus removing any phytotoxicity and specific nutrients were found with low activity in the dry pellet. Results showed significantly increased seedling emergence and vigour in field trials.
Commercialisation: Commercial production of this pellet was commenced in Febuary, 2006 and has been widely accepted by growers and seed companies throughout Australia.
[top]
Trial 3013 – Parsnip ProCoat
Background: Parsnip seed is an extremely difficult seed shape to deliver in ground with current planting technology due to its thin, light, plate-like morphology. The ballistic properties of such a shape are low and very easily blown out of the planting line. It also makes for issues of multiple seed pickup in planters, eventually leading to hours of pricking after seedling emergence. Parsnip seed is relatively large but concerns arise when attempting to coat the seed as the thin outer “wings” curl and deform on contact with water. The seed is also extremely sensitive to water logging and typically carries a high fungal load
Aim: Develop a pellet to increase ballistic properties, aid precision planting and limit fungal problems without reducing the germination or vigour of the Parsnip seed.
Results: Specialty materials were investigated to design a flexible pellet with good water holding capacity. Investigation into novel pellet application methods removed the curling issues mentioned above and the resulting pellet was round and smooth. The addition of fungicides significantly improved germination % and seedling vigour in both Laboratory Germination Tests and Field Trials.
Commercialisation: Commercial production of this pellet was commenced in November, 2005 and is distributed throughout the industry.
[top]
Trial 4021 – Native Seed Treatments (Adelaide University)
Background: Senior Research Officers from the University Of Adelaide (Cooperative Research Centre of Viticulture) looked to improve the establishment of native pastures and groundcovers under vineyards in South Australia. Problems generally occur with surface sown seed being displaced by ants or wind and low germination in field due to high dormancy in native seed.
Aim: A range of species, including saltbushes, grasses and clematis, were investigated for potential treatments to improve germination, reduce dormancy and advance plant establishment.
Results: Removing dormancy in the species involved screening trials of various dormancy breaking methods including smoke water, priming, salt leaching, pre-chilling, scarification and removal of fruity casings. Species were found to respond to different methods and thus treatments needed to be tailored for each of the supplied seed lots, one species exhibited a 90% increase in germination after treatment. Pelleting seed overcame the problem of displacement by wind, with a melting type pellet used to increase the size of particularly small seed and a flexible pellet used for long-awned grasses.
Commercialisation: Treated seed was trialed through University of Adelaide nursery and results were positive, especially for the saltbush species. Native seed merchants have gladly adopted a range of treated seed for commercial sale.
[top]
Trial 5011 – Controlling Root Rot in Coriander
Background: Department of Primary Industries, Victoria (DPI), identify root rot as a major reason for failure of Coriander crops in the Werribee area. A range of chemical fungicides have registration and are commercially available to control root rot but typically require multiple foliar applications at a sensitive stage of seedling development.
Aim: DPI approached Seed Solutions to help design a seed applied treatment that could potentially protect the seed from Dieback/Root Rot for the first six weeks growth.
Results: A series of registered fungicides were investigated for use on seed and a shotgun approach was chosen. Rates of application needed to be carefully designed to ensure the chemical load did not stunt seedling growth or create abnormal plants. Lab results showed no phytotoxicity in the selected treatment and Field Trials by DPI demonstrated significantly reduced symptoms of root rot compared with control plants and all other foliar applications for the first 6 weeks of growth.
Commercialisation: The relevant growers were made aware of the successful Field Trial results through a DPI hosted horticultural seminar and the product is now available to seed companies.
[top]
pdf/829kB
doc/166kB
xls/270kB