Seed Treatment
What this category covers
Seed treatment protects seed and germinating seedlings from soilborne fungi, insects, and nematodes. Products may be fungicides, insecticides, nematicides, inoculants, or colorants, applied as slurries, mists, or film coatings by commercial treaters or on the farm.
Concepts to master
- Rate basis. Seed treatment rates are almost always expressed per 100 pounds of seed (per hundredweight, cwt), not per acre. To convert to a field rate you need the seeding rate.
- Coverage. Uniform, complete coverage of the seed coat is the goal. Treaters must be calibrated by weight, and product viscosity, seed size, and seed lot condition all affect coverage.
- Treated seed handling. Treated seed is dyed or otherwise marked to distinguish it from food, feed, and oilseed. Treated seed must never enter the food or feed supply, and leftover treated seed must be disposed of according to the label.
- Pollinator protection. Dust abraded from treated seed, along with planter talc and graphite, can drift onto blooming plants and foraging bees. Use lubricants and handling practices that minimize dust, and follow label directions for planting.
- Quality. Check germination and treat only good-quality seed; poor seed or excess moisture can reduce germination.
Traps that show up in questions
Confusing a seed-treatment rate with an in-furrow or foliar rate. Mixing a hopper-box product with a seed treatment as if they were the same thing. Blending treated seed into feed grain. Ignoring dust-off risk when planting near apiaries or flowering crops.
Rule of thumb with numbers
Product per acre = (labeled rate per 100 lb seed) x (seeding rate in lb/acre) / 100. At a 2 fl oz/cwt rate and a 40 lb/acre seeding rate, that is 2 x 40/100 = 0.8 fl oz of product per acre.