b'A.I. Retention: Seed Treatment ApplicationDos and Donts IF YOUVE BEENin the seed treatment industry long enough,seed. This allows us to assure the performance of our seed coat-youve probably heard about dust-off from seed. Dust-off isings to control dust.the term generally used to refer to the dust potentially releasedFor BASF, providing high quality seed treatment coating from seed when it is handled and plantedand its not some- products to properly steward our seed treatment insecticide, thing you want to occur. The amount of dust-off from treatednematicide and fungicide products is part of our sustainable seed is generally the result of abrasion of the seed when it isseed treatment business. This includes working to educate the handled, conveyed and or planted.industry on what to do and what not to do when applying a seed Our job in the seed treatment industry is ensuring that dusttreatment. stays out of the field, and its something every company takesWhen it comes to dust-off, heres five tips our team found into consideration when developing new seed treatments forwork best to keep your active ingredient on the seed: customers and applicators. One key factor within the R&D pro- 1. Untreated seed generally has naturally occurring seed-cess is determining how best to retain active ingredients fromrelated dust already present.Before the seed is treated it should seed treatments to prevent dust-off issues from occurring. be cleaned and conditioned correctly to remove all seed related The application of seed coatings along with the activedust and debris prior to treating is key to a good start ingredient containing seed treatment products ensures that2. Seed treatment application equipment should be of the the seed treatment products placed on the seed remain on theproper type for the seed treatment products applied and the seed through planting. Afterall, when a seed treatment has beentype of seed being treated.placed onto the surface of the seed to protect that seed, the3. Proper calibration of the seed treatment equipment is nec-main goal is to keep all the treatment on the seed where it needsessary to assure that the seed treatment products and coatings to be to do its job in the field. are being applied at the correct application rates.Tracking of At BASF, it starts with an R&D process ensuring the coating isthe amount of seed treated and the amount of product applied doing its job correctly. We use a Heubach Dustmeter for testingshould be used to confirm treater calibration and assure accu-the retention of active ingredientsracy. to develop the best coat- 4. For many seed types the solution to minimize dust-off ing product. We alsocomes down to applying the correct seed coating at the proper have the capabilityrate proven to be effective. In fact, coatings like Flo Rite Pro in our laboratoryhave been developed specifically to keep the active ingredient to measure theon the seed where it belongs.potential dust levels5. Always follow the seed treatment product label when of treated seedapplying product and the instructions on the seed bag tag when with the commonplanting treated seed.vacuum planterKeep an eye out for more on this topic and, until then, use meters typicallya seed coating when appropriate and always follow the label used to plant theinstructionsthey are there for a reason.RON REICHERTSEED TREATMENT R&D MANAGEMENT; COATINGS, APPLICATION & STEWARDSHIP LEAD, BASFRonald.reichert@basf.comagriculture.basf.us/crop-protection/use-areas/seed-treatment.htmlDECEMBER 2022SEEDWORLD.COM /49'