Seed coatings are a common method of seed treatment which applies the antimicrobial and/or fungicidal agents to the surface of a seed via additives, such as binders, to ensure adherence. The seed coatings ensure healthier crops from their earliest growth stage, reduce crop losses, and improve nutritional value of the final crop. Furthermore, seed coatings can physically modify the seed to improve handling by reducing friction and improving flowability.
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Developing new seed coating formulations generates varying challenges. These range from incomplete dispersion, storage-stability issues, lengthy formulation development time as well as dust-off and seed-clumping. Some of these issues are already being solved by addition of petro-based additives, but today solutions need to be focused towards biodegradable and micro-plastic free additives.
Most types of seed coating formulations are based on flowable concentrates or emulsions. These aim to increase adhesion on the seed and reduce dust-off after coating. Many different types of seed coating formulations exist, and the ones chosen for implementation depend on the cost of the additives, the active ingredients to be coated onto the seed and today they must also be biodegradable and micro-plastic free.
One option to eliminate micro-plastics in seed coating formulations is by incorporating Exilva®, a biodegradable cellulose fibril from Borregaard. Exilva is a sustainable, innovative, and bio-based material. Exilva consists of water suspended, biodegradable and non-soluble cellulose microfibril bundles designed for use in a broad range of aqueous and polar solvent based formulations and applications.
Exilva, once incorporated into a seed-coating formulation, can be the first-step towards improving the sustainability and reducing the microplastics by improving compatibility, robustness, and stability. Exilva can improve the seed coating formulations by:
Seed-coating with Exilva on soybeans
Seed-coating with Exilva on corn
Along with early and safe germination, these are just a few of the areas where Exilva® could make an improvement to the sustainability and efficiency in the seed coating industry. These areas are key to forming a reliable, effective, and biodegradable seed coating which can improve performance and the growing-profile of seeds within the agriculture industry with elimination of micro-plastics.
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