Seed treatment and planting of grains

Generally, seed treatments consist of either an insecticide or a fungicide, or even both.  Seed treatments are added to seed and seedling from diseases and pests during the early critical stage.  Sometimes seeds are also treated with plant nutrition or growth regulator products to enhance germination, vigour, and emergence.  In addition to the abovementioned products, growers can also treat the seeds with microbes such as beneficial bacteria or fungi to improve general soil health and encourage symbiotic collaboration between plant and microbial components in the soil.

It is important to follow instructions and consider restrictions and compatibility of the different treatments to avoid adverse effects such as phytotoxicity or product wastage.  Unregistered or self-mixed seed dressings added to seed on-farm are highly unreliable and is not recommended, often leading to more harm than benefit.

In addition to the seed treatment, there are various additional treatments that can be applied during planting, including pre-plant insecticide and nematicides, and pre-emergent herbicides.  The pre-plant insecticides usually consist of a granular or concentrate product that can be applied before or during planting.  The product is either placed close to the plant row to provide protection for the seed and seedling for an extended time, as a soil drench before planting to reduce the insect numbers.  It is important to ensure that the product do not touch the seed as it may result in harming the seed and germinating seedling.

The purpose of the pre-emergent herbicides is to inhibit the germination and emergence of weeds which are dormant and are yet to sprout.  Some chemicals are specifically developed to control broad leaved weeds, some are specifically developed to control grasses, and some are developed to control a mixture of broad leaves and grasses. Therefore, it is crucial to determine which weeds the purchased chemicals will kill.

AVIMA has a range of solutions for pest management ranging from seed treatments to post-emergent pesticides to assist the grower in their fight against unwanted invaders.  AVIMA supports the responsible application of agrochemicals and strongly recommend that the growers only use registered products and strictly adhere to label instructions.