b'PARTNER CONTENTCoating Seed is Not an Art. Its a Skill, and You Can Learn It.T heres a common myth that being good at drawingimproves drying and reduces dust abrasion. or painting is an inborn talent. Either you have itThey do more at once. All treatments, including or you dont. But studies have repeatedly showndiluting agents, dyes, polymers or other pelleting and that drawing is a skill that can be learned, and the morecoating substances, can be applied subsequently and/or you do it, the better you get. Plus, having a good teacherat different times and intensities during the automation helps a lot. process. Within a single batch and machine, the prod-When I started working in the seed processing equip- uct can be treated and dried simultaneously. Towards ment sector in 2006, I visited a company that specializedthe end of the coating process, the air flow rate can be in pelletizing seed. In those days, making good pelletsincreased to further dry the seed.was considered complicated, an art form practiced byThey allow for a systems approach. Coated seeds of-By: Jona select few experienced experts. To take a very smallten do not need multiple steps to dry fully, but if further Moreland, seed, like a vegetable seed, and pelletize it, that is, makedrying is needed, modern belt dryers use an ingenious Sales Managerit into something thats more easily handled, looks like aair flow solution that allows for highly efficient butAgriculturetiny BB, and is perfectly round, was quite a feat.gentle drying. An integrated belt dryer reduces manual Market Sector, Or so it was believed. labor and eliminates cross-contamination with chemi-Premier TechAfter experimenting, the Premier Tech/PETKUScal residues. Different machines can be used in harmo-Systems and Automation team developed some basic instructions for the recipeny to create the final product and offer custom solutions.we wanted to build and how it should be applied to theThey make the most of the surface of a seed. Seed seed. Within two hours, our technician created beauti- and seed treatments arent cheap. Theyre a big invest-ful seed pellets.ment, and as both seed and seed treatments become I quickly realized that seed pelletizing wasnt an art.more sophisticated, automation is needed to both It didnt require a special skill set that only a very experi- handle the seed appropriately and ensure treatments enced person possessed; it required some basic knowl- are applied properly and effectively.edge and the power of automation. It also required aThey allow you to do more in-house. Going back to change in mindset, which up to that point said that youmy pelletizing example from the beginning, many of had to have decades of experience with seed treatmentsthese treatment steps used to be done by a few custom to make a good pellet. companies. These days, people are bringing these capa-Modern seed treating is a form of applied engineer- bilities in-house, because a company like Premier Tech ing and modern equipment is actually making it easieris helping them understand how the technology works than ever, especially if you work with an experiencedand how automation makes it possible to do what they equipment provider who understands the machines andcouldnt do before.can help you master them. Ive had experience treating just about every kind of Fast forward to today, and automation has madeseed you can think of, from the smallest seeds to much pelletizing even simpler. With the power of automation,larger ones like corn and chickpeas. As automation seed treating in general is a lot more precise and allowsbecomes more advanced, were able to apply more ac-customers to make the most of the tiny amount of spacecurate doses to the seed and maximize the small area of that exists on the surface of a seed. Modern machinesa seeds surface in ways we never have before. and their innovative approach to seed treatment do thisSeed coating is not an art; its a form of applied in a variety of ways. engineering that weve spent a lot of time perfecting at First off, theyre gentler, thereby reducing dustoffPremier Tech/PETKUS. And now, we can pass it on to and other harm to the seed and seed treatment process.virtually anyone who wants to benefit from the capabili-Air cushion technology during the encrusting and pel- ties of modern seed coating and drying equipment.letizing of seeds not only allows for gentle handling butFor info visit ptchronos.com/agricultureDECEMBER 2022SEEDWORLD.COM /103'