As soybean growers continue to plant earlier into cooler, wetter soils, a seedling’s window of vulnerability expands. For independent seed retailers, helping farmers protect that early-season investment means recommending a seed treatment that offers complete, proven protection without compromising operational efficiency.
Lumisena® Prime fungicide seed treatment, the newest all-in-one seed treatment premix from Corteva Agriscience, simplifies the seed treatment process while maximizing early-season plant health and ultimately final yield.
Customer Demand Drives Corteva Innovation
Developing a flagship premix starts with listening to the retail community and understanding the evolving pressures in the field. “Customer demand was the primary reason this product was developed,” said Karen Lackermann, Corteva Field Biology Leader, North America Seed Applied Technologies. “That goes for the type of pests and diseases growers want protection from, as well as application convenience for retailers and applicators, who are under an intense time crunch to turn around as much seed as possible right before planting.”
Enter Lumisena Prime, which combines five fungicide and insecticide components into an all-in-one, single-jug solution that relieves the time and stress of chemical mixing. “This custom-developed recipe delivers best-in-class quality directly to our customers,” said Lackermann.
Pairing customer feedback with formulation science, Lumisena Prime seed treatment elevates both the retailers’ treatment experience and the growers’ agronomic performance.
Rigorous R&D Involves 100+ Field Trials
To make sure Lumisena® Prime fungicide seed treatment delivered on every promise, Corteva subjected the formulation to extensive multi-year laboratory, lab-scale equipment, and real-world field assessments. The company’s evaluation program, called PASSER, analyzes a product’s plantability, application characteristics, seed safety, efficacy, and overall customer experience to ensure that the seed dries down quickly and without causing singulation errors or planter clogs.
“Beyond the lab, we conducted three years of field testing across more than 100 unique planting locations representing a full range of weather stress,” said Lackermann. “Sixty of those 100 trials were categorized as high weather stress with cooler, wetter conditions where seeds take longer to emerge.”
Corteva also implemented production-scale treating equipment directly into environmental chambers to simulate extreme conditions. “From a freezing morning in South Dakota to a hot day in Texas, it needed to deliver consistent performance no matter the environment.”
Unmatched Broad-Spectrum Efficacy and Disease Defense
Lumisena Prime brings a unique combination of crop protection to the market, establishing itself as the first all-in-one colored formulation featuring Lumisena® fungicide seed treatment.
“How Lumisena Prime really differentiates itself is through its protection against Phytophthora, soybean’s No. 1 early-season yield-robbing disease” said Andrew Stein, Agronomic and Product Positioning Specialist at Corteva. “Because of the active ingredient oxathiapiprolin, it enhances our control and early-season performance.”
Lumisena Prime delivers broad-spectrum defense using four fungicides and one insecticide. It deploys four modes of action against these key early-season diseases: Phytophthora, Pythium, Fusarium, and Rhizoctonia.
Pythium is a cold-soil water mold, while Phytophthora thrives in warmer waterlogged conditions. By providing four modes of action across these pathogens, Lumisena Prime offers enhanced, layered control during critical early developmental stages before a soybean’s natural genetic tolerance fully activates.
Along with broad disease defense, the formulation incorporates thiamethoxam to protect seedlings from early-season insect pests.
Early-Season Plant Health: Thriving Under Stress
When seed stays in cold, wet soil longer, early-season vigor is critical to getting crops out of the ground fast and building a resilient plant stand.
“Seed treatments typically provide 35 to 40 days of protection, which is a crucial window when seedlings are at their most vulnerable,” said Stein.
“When we rate our plots using drone monitoring, we’ve observed improved early-season vigor, stand establishment, plant size, and color ratings compared to untreated fields and industry checks.”
Across 100 research locations, Lumisena Prime demonstrated a +1 bushel per acre yield advantage* over untreated controls. In high-risk Phytophthora environments, the Lumisena fungicide active ingredient delivers a +4 bu/A advantage* over high-rate Metalaxyl.
Creating Efficiency in the Seed Treatment Process and Planter Box
Beyond field performance, Lumisena® Prime fungicide seed treatment was engineered to eliminate logistical headaches for applicators and farmers. “Without a premix, an applicator might need five dedicated stands on a custom treating setup just to manage all the individual components,” said Lackermann. Lumisena Prime takes up only a single stand, freeing up space to run biologicals, inoculants, or nematicides.
Lumisena Prime also shows statistically significant improvements in seed dry-down speed and singulation compared to CruiserMaxx APX. Its lower application rate and less oily formulation allow seed to dry faster, creating a seamless experience for both the applicator and the grower.
“We test our formulations under severe real-world conditions, 80°F and 70% humidity, where seeds typically ‘sweat’ and become tacky in the planter,” said Stein. A low application rate and water-based formulation mean Lumisena Prime dries quickly into a clean seed coating, ensuring superior flowability through center-fill planter tubes and uniform seed spacing in the field.
Key Advantages at a Glance
- All-in-One Simplicity: 5 active ingredients (4 fungicides + 1 insecticide) in a single jug.
- Superior Phytophthora Defense: Powered by oxathiapiprolin (Group 49), delivering unmatched control against early-season disease pressure.
- Proven Yield Boost: +1 bu/A advantage across broad acres and +4 bu/A in high Phytophthora pressure environments.
- Enhanced Plantability and Flowability: Lower application rate and water-based formulation result in rapid seed dry-down, precise singulation, and superior flow through center-fill planters.
The Bottom Line
Lumisena® Prime fungicide seed treatment combines Corteva seed treatment technology with practical operational efficiency. For seed retailers looking to offer their growers industry-leading early-season protection while streamlining their own treating operations, Lumisena Prime stands out as a clear, best-in-class recommendation.
To learn more about the science behind Lumisena Prime or to explore complete field trial data, visit the Lumisena Prime website or contact your local Corteva Agriscience representative today.
™®Trademarks of Corteva Agriscience and its affiliated companies. Lumisena® Prime is not registered for sale or use in all states or counties. Contact your state pesticide regulatory agency to determine if a product is registered for sale or use in your state. Always read and follow label directions. © Corteva 2026.
*Lumisena® fungicide data is based on 638 head-to-head comparisons between Lumisena fungicide seed treatment (0.568 fl oz/cwt) and Metalaxyl (0.75 fl oz/cwt) in the top soybean-producing states through Dec. 12, 2017. Comparisons were made utilizing the same soybean variety.
