Encrusted seed enables uniform planting on small seed types
February 21, 2025
Each spring brings new promise – including the promise of healthy food provided by the vegetable crops planted. For growers around the world, planting season is one of the most important times of the year.
There are many factors that must come together to create a good environment for a successful crop. It starts with the genetics in the seed and is immediately influenced by planting. The planting conditions, seed spacing and depth, and seed treatment all play important roles in how well – or poorly – vegetable crops perform.
To better serve growers, Syngenta Vegetable Seed experts gather insights about what challenges are occurring most often and seek solutions.
“After reviewing this information, I investigate the details, understand the underlying factors that affect the product quality, and then based on this, we adjust our processes based on customer's needs to improve customer experience.” said Juhi Chaudhary, Seed Planner for Syngenta Vegetable Seeds.
Growers Share Challenges with Small Sized Seed
In many planters, the smaller size of the seeds can cause them to be planted too close together or at varying depths. Planters are set and configured to plant seeds at optimal rates, and when altered, it can cause significant economic and yield losses.
Inconsistent planting can lead to missed opportunities from skipped seeds or wasted seed and yield potential with overcrowding. Skips result in fewer plants and less fruit potential. Double planting, when multiple seeds fall into the same spot, prevents either plant from reaching its full potential due to competition for water, nutrients, and sunlight.
Enter Syngenta’s solution: seed encrustment – coating small seeds with a layer of material that perfects the shape and increases the size and weight of the seed.
“With encrusted seeds, the grower is going to save on labor, and the seed is going to have a better chance of uniform germination,” Chaudhary said. “It establishes a strong foundation for the seed to grow and helps maximize yield potential.”
The result is uniform seeds that flow through planters easier, resulting in consistency when planting. More consistent planting means more uniform germination, which ultimately sets the crop up for a more successful season.
For small-seeded vegetables, like brassicas, this technology could be especially valuable to encourage more success at planting.
Grower Feedback Drives Innovation at Syngenta
When it comes to optimizing our processing, it means our experts like Chaudhary look to not only seed and regulatory authorities, but also listen to customers concerns as well.
“We make decisions based on strong statistical data analysis – not based on assumptions,” Chaudhary said. “That means we deliver high quality product that consistently performs to our customers.”
Ongoing innovations are driven by feedback directly from growers, and as new challenges arise, we will continue to work with them to deliver innovative and timely solutions.
“It’s not a one-day job,” said Chaudhary about solving growers’ most pressing problems. “It’s a process of continuous improvement.”
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