Seed enhancements

Abstract

Seed enhancements may be defined as post-harvest treatments that improve germination or seedling growth, or facilitate the delivery of seeds and other materials required at the time of sowing. This definition includes three general areas of enhancements: pre-sowing hydration treatments (priming), coating technologies and seed conditioning. Pre-sowing hydration treatments include non-controlled water uptake systems (methods in which water is freely available and not restricted by the environment) and controlled systems (methods that regulate seed moisture content preventing the completion of germination). Three techniques are used for controlled water uptake: priming with solutions or with solid particulate systems or by controlled hydration with water. These priming techniques will be discussed in this paper with reference to methodology, protocol optimization, drying and storage. Coating technologies include pelleting and film coating, and coatings may serve as delivery systems. Seed conditioning equipment upgrades seed quality by physical criteria. Integration of these methods can be performed, and a system is described to upgrade seed quality in Brassica that combines hydration, coating and conditioning. Upgrading is achieved by detecting sinapine leakage from nonviable seeds in a coating material surrounding the seeds. Seed-coat permeability directly influences leakage rate, and seeds of many species have a semipermeable layer. The semipermeable layer restricts solute diffusion through the seed coat, while water movement is not impeded. Opportunities for future seed enhancement research and development are highlighted.

Effect of copper carbonate and zinc oxide applied to seeds on copper and zinc uptake by maize seedlings

“…The seed treatment operation allows a uniform distribution of fertilizers in a seed batch, which will correspond to an even distribution among plants in the field (Scott 1998). Other advantages are related to lower operational costs, earlier availability to plants and placement near the root system (Taylor et al 1998;Scott 1998;Farooq et al 2012).…”

Embebição e qualidade fisiológica de sementes de tremoço branco tratadas com micronutrientes

“…O nutricondicionamento tem proporcionado diminuição no período de embebição (TAYLOR et al, 1998) de lixiviados metabólicos (BASRA et al, 2005) e, também, maior sincronização da germinação (FAROOQ et al, 2009 O teste de grau de umidade foi realizado com quatro subamostras de 50 sementes moídas e mantidas a 130±3ºC por uma hora (BRASIL, 2009). Para a instalação do teste de germinação, quatro subamostras de 50 sementes, por lote e tratamento, previamente submetidas à superação de dormência por sete dias a 5ºC (BRASIL, 2009), foram distribuídas em papel toalha (germitest) e mantidas a 20ºC na ausência de luz.…”

Sugarbeet (Beta vulgaris L.) seed pre-treatment with water and HCl to improve germination

“…However much of the acreage is overplanted and gap filled. Effective pre-germination seed treatments increase the rate of emergence and may improve uniformity of emergence and other number of seeds resulting in plants (Taylor et al, 1998). Pre-sowing seed treatments are use to leachout germination inhibitors, soften seed coats and advance physiological processes.…”