Seed treatments are a very useful kind of insurance policy that help to build the strong foundation of a plant stand to start the growing season.
What seed treatments do within a plant can be compared to putting on a Saskatchewan ‘bunny hug’ (that’s a hoodie to the rest of us!) over a t-shirt in two degree weather, explains Rory Cranston, technical strategy lead with Bayer in this episode of RealAgriculture’s Wheat School.
In the same way that a person’s productivity is more likely to go up when they are operating at a good temperature, so does a plant’s. Not only can seed treatments help with cold tolerance and cold mitigation during the early part of the growing season, but they can also help control pests and diseases when the plant is at its most vulnerable stage.
Along with the use of a seed treatment, Cranston also states the importance of seed testing, and for growers to know vigour and germination rates of seed lots. Altogether this helps growers achieve a vigorous stand that allows a dense canopy to fill in quickly, increases competition with weeds which in turn increases herbicide efficacy and strengthens root development.
“You only get one chance to set up the year, and so doing your best to establish it is really going to be effective,” says Cranston of the importance of treating wheat seed.
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