Screening Battelle’s Non-Microplastic Seed Binders in a New Seed Treatment Formulation

Battelle sought to develop new flowable concentrate seed treatment (FS) formulations with fungicidal active ingredients, incorporating non-microplastic seed binders. The challenge was to identify suitable binders that would not only effectively incorporate into the new formulation but also demonstrate low dust-off and maintain or improve flowability compared to existing commercial seed treatment products. Essentially, Battelle needed to create a more environmentally friendly and potentially higher-performing seed treatment for a key client.   

Battelle prepared six different seed treatment products by adding the same concentration of Battelle’s non-microplastic seed binders to a milled slurry. Each of the finished seed treatment products was then diluted in deionised water to known dose rates. The treatment was applied to 500g batches of wheat seed using a Wintersteiger Hege 11 rotary seed treater. Treated seeds were then simply air-dried overnight at ambient conditions. For screening purposes, dust-off testing was conducted on a Heubach dust meter using an adapted ESA method with 200g of treated seed. The test was conducted for 600 seconds. Flowability was assessed using Battelle’s custom-designed drill equipment fitted with a motor and a seed drill that would typically be used in the field. For screening, 200g of seed was passed through the drill with a motor forward speed of 215Kg/Ha. This dual-testing approach provided comprehensive data on the performance of each binder.

The screening process demonstrated that several products containing Battelle's non-microplastic seed binders significantly reduced dust-off compared to the commercial control, meeting the ESA reference value of 4g of dust per 100kg of seed. Furthermore, all tested binders improved the flowability of the treated wheat seed. These results indicate that the new seed treatment products with non-microplastic seed binders offer both reduced dust-off and enhanced flow, promising improved performance in planting equipment and a reduced environmental impact when applied to wheat seed compared to commercial products. Battelle is now positioned to further optimize these formulations to potentially achieve even greater dust reduction and flow enhancement, if needed.

Figure 1: Dust-off values of products containing Battelle’s non-microplastic binders on wheat
seed

Figure 2: Flowability of new seed treatments containing Battelle’s non-microplastic
binders on wheat seed