b'SEED APPLIED TECHNOLOGIESMyths on Seed TreatmentANDRE NEGREIROSTeam Lead, Seed Applied TechnologiesCortevaMyth: Seed treatments only pay off inmore than 10 years before arriving to theMyth: Seed treatments arent compatible colder, damper conditions at plantingfinal user. This reliable regulatory processwith inoculants time makes the registered seed treatment solu- Not all seed treatments may be compati-This is a tremendous misunderstanding.tions very trustful and convenient to farm- ble to all inoculants. Alive inoculants will We all know that the environment (soil,ers, environment and all crop consumers. require to be applied with seed treatment water, air) is full of alive organisms. Andfriendly products/formulations. But now-they are there, and they will be alwaysMyth: Seed treatments are expensive,adays, there are several products in the there, in higher or lower quantities, butand farmers wont see a return on theirmarket that fit into this requirement. By the pathogens, insects, nematodes, willinvestmentthe way, is not only inoculants that can be there in the soil when the seed willCurrent solutions available in the marketsuffer with incompatibility. There are be planted. Seed treatments works veryare proven to be very effective and willseveral chemical/biological seed treat-precisely in every single seed, avoidingdeliver the return on investment expectedments that cannot be mixed. This is why early crop damage and later larger foliarover the years. Since commodity prices,it is very important that we have a proper crop protection applications, keeping thepest pressure, and weather conditionsseed treatment recipe development done environment less exposed to it. may vary from season to season, the per- to address such situations. In CORTEVA, formance and return on investment of thethe Seed Applied Technologies team Myth: Seed treatments are snake oil andseed treatments can also be variable. Thishave the PASSER process, that stands are unreliableis why it is super important to have anfor PLANTABILITY, APPLICATION, Once acquiring your seed treatment prod- assessment on technical & financial dataSEED SAFETY, STEWARDSHIP and ucts from reliable sources, farmers can befrom historical databases. In general, theREGULATORY tests. These procedures sure that the product was tested for severalresults are very positive, and the farmersmake the companys recommendations years. Normally, a professional seed treat- have a win rate of over 80 percent versusvery reliable and delivering the expected ment technology is massively tested foruntreated seeds. results.SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTUREBringing Less Input & More Yield Together is Not Fake NewsLUDWIG ALLGOEWERHead - Sugar BeetKWSThe Future Only Works TogetherContinuing to achieve high-yielding har- the spread and the increasingly severeKWS CR+ varieties: Tolerant, vests into the future means farmers aremanifestation of Cercospora, and roughlysustainable, high-yieldinghaving to increasingly adapt to climatetwo third of the global sugarbeet acreageBreeders at KWS started searching for changes and strengthened agrochemicalare characterized by a risk of moderate tonew ways to control Cercospora 20 years regulations. At the same time, they arehigh Cercospora pressure. Mild wintersago and discovered the relevant trait in experiencing intensifying pressure fromand warm, humid summers promote thea wild beet that is closely related to the agricultural pests and plant diseases thatinfection in typical Cercospora regions.sugarbeet. Combining that trait with threaten crop yields. Growers find them- Thanks to its various agricultural advan- naturaly more tolerant varieties, the selves ensnared in the difficult dichot- tages, sugarbeet plays a valuable role innew CR+ varieties offer unprecedented omy of operating both economically andactively protecting soil and water as partprotection against Cercospora. Farmers ecologically. This makes it all the moreof extensive crop rotation. This makes it allare not only able to count on high-yield important to create sustainable cultiva- the more important that varieties offer aperformance on land with and without tion systems by making progress in seedcertain amount of tolerance to Cercospora.infestations, they are also able to make innovation: The seed specialist KWS hasThis tolerance already exists, but there isless use of fungicides. In North America, steadfastly worked to develop sugarbeeta catch: Beet growers have had to acceptfor example, based on farmer feedback, varieties that combine Cercospora toler- yield losses if they chose varieties with aKWS concludes that for this region an ance with high-yield performanceahigh level of Cercospora tolerance. Thisaverage of two fungicide applications painstaking pursuit rewarded by the suc- has been especially the case if there wasper year can be saved.1 This drives down cessful development of CR+ varieties thatless disease pressure on the land. Andcosts and lessens negative effects on soils, have strong tolerance to the diesease. farmers face another problem: To controlwater, the climate and biodiversity. At the Cercospora beticola is one of thethe leaf disease, fungicides can be applied,same time, farmers who grow CR+ vari-most harmful leaf diseases to impact sug- but many pathogens develop a resistanceeties make an important contribution to arbeets, and fungal infections can lead toto pesticides and many pesticides are sub- promoting greater sustainability in agri-yield losses of up to 50 percent. Climateject to regulations.culture while also securing the profitabil-change is a contributing factor to bothity of sugarbeet cultivation for the future.1 These assumptions are based on feedback covering total of 40,000 acres of CR+ varieties, cultivated over a span of two years.EUROPEAN-SEED.COMIEUROPEAN SEED I 33'