Development and Evaluation of a Prototype for Seed Coating

Abstract

The use of technologies is increasingly present in agriculture. The seed coating is one of these technologies. However, to obtain it, it's demanded the use of machines and technics which are restricted to production companies, burdening the price on this type of product. Given the above, it was aimed to develop and evaluate a prototype capable of coating small seeds. To elaborate the conceptual design of the prototype it was employed the computer program for modeling 3D SketchUp, version 2014. The prototype measures were expressed in millimeters (mm). The prototype has three main parts: (1) support base, (2) seed coating bowl, and (3) cementing material container. To evaluate the prototype, bentonite, gypsum and kaolin were used as filling materials of the colza seed (Brassica napus L.). As cementing material the PVA glue was used in the percentages of 20, 30, 40 and 50%. The studied variables were prototype yield, production cost of the coated seeds and residue generated in the coating process. The prototype has a compact size, answering the needs of laboratory and/or small producer. It presented cost and residues in an acceptable level and yield up to 88%.