There are six good reasons why we coat forage and turf seeds. These are:

1) Pre-inoculation of legumes

2) Nutrient benefits

3) Safe, effective application of agricultural chemicals e.g. Apron

4) Protection from stress conditions

5) Protection from rodents, birds and the harmful effects of some fertilizers

6) To improve ballistic properties and facilitate seeding

1) PRE-INOCULATION:

Pre-inoculation is the addition of nodule bacteria (rhizobia) to the seed, weeks or even months in advance of sowing. It ensures that the bacteria are in close proximity to the roots of the germinating seedling and thus, in a position to cause fast, effective nodulation.

The need for legume inoculation is now widely recognized, particularly in the case of trefoils, as there are few native populations of the rhizobium necessary to induce nodulation in this species present in North American soils.

It is true that areas of North America do have populations of rhizobium meliloti (alfalfa bacteria) and that in many cases, uninoculated alfalfa seed would nodulate when sown in these soils. It is also true that the yield of many of the plants infected by these native bacteria would be significantly greater had they been nodulated by the more effective strains of rhizobium used in the  Rhizoseal® and Precision-Cote® processes.

Millions of dollars are spent by Scientists each year in an attempt to develop new strains of rhizobia which can utilize the rhizobium-legume association far more effectively than native rhizobium strains. The need for nodulation is obvious. Effectively nodulated legumes can fix large amounts of nitrogen from the atmosphere. Pure alfalfa stands are capable of fixing approximately 150 kilograms of nitrogen per hectare per year.

Pre-inoculated seeds are not monitored by The USDA however Agriculture Canada does perform MPN tests to ensure that at least 1,000 viable rhizobia are present on the seed at the time of its sale to the farmer. Our Precision Cote® and Rhizoseal® products often contain in excess of 100,000 viable rhizobium per seed.

2) NUTRIENT BENEFITS:

Seed coating creates a nutritious environment around the establishing seedling and increases vigor during its critical early development. The main nutrient included in our seed coatings is phosphorus. Twenty percent of all Precision-Cote® and Nutriprill® grass seed coating and nine percent of  Precision-Cote® legume coating is phosphatic fertilizer, which is essential for root development and seedling establishment. Even on soils with sufficiently high phosphorus levels to sustain normal growth, localized placement is very beneficial. It is desirable from the standpoint of accessibility to the establishing seedling and in order to reduce fixation. Phosphorus does not move in the soil, therefore, the nearer it can be placed to the seed, the easier it can be utilized by the seedling.

3) AGRICULTURAL CHEMICALS:

In 1979, the Federal Government of Canada introduced regulations requiring all alfalfa seed sown in Canada to be treated with Thiram. Although Thiram is no longer required on alfalfa seed, other chemicals are still used. e.g. Apron. Research data available from trials using Apron indicate that it may have a detrimental affect on the viability of some strains of rhizobium. Research with coated seed products containing Apron has shown good compatibility between Apron and rhizobium when the rhizobium are encased by the layering effect of the coating materials.

Alfalfa treated with Thiram or Apron also raises the question of chemical toxicity. The  Rhizoseal® and Precision-Cote® processes can treat alfalfa seed if required by applying these chemicals directly to the seed and then surrounding them with our normal coating materials. Obviously, this is the safest method of applying any toxic substance to seed and will minimize the chances of the end user coming into contact with the toxic chemical. In addition to Apron, virtually any chemical that is required can be incorporated into the  Rhizoseal® or Precision-Cote® coating processes.

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