40 GERMINATION.CA JULY 2018 Germination: What sort of microbes can we harness for use in seed treat- ments of the future? JK: Rhizobia is an obvious one for nitrogen fixation on legumes and is something we’re already seeing used. Azospirillum is popular in Latin America for nitrogen fixation on cereals. RT: In the inoculant world, whether it’s pea or lentil or soybean, the use of rhizobia to supplement those crops for nitrogen production is our oldest example of a biological being used in agriculture. We do spend a lot of time trying to improve formulation and seed stability. In South America storage is an issue due to the hot climate, so we’re working to make the formulations we have more user- friendly. Germination: How do seed coatings work as a biostimulant? AT: Plant biostimulants are a broad class of substances and microorgan- isms that enhance plant growth. Categories include microbial inocu- lants, humic acid and fulvic acid, pro- tein hydrolysate and amino acids, and even seaweed extracts. We’ve had promising results using soy flour in this capacity. The soy flour contains protein, which is a source of nitro- gen, but the contribution from the protein content is small. We’re seeing enhanced uptake with soy flour as a biostimulant. Germination: Hydrophilic coatings — what’s the story there? SUPPORTED BY: ENDORSED BY: DOWNLOADTHEWHOLE CONVERSATION! View our latest Retail Roundtable webinar on this very topic at http://ow.ly/uSEK30kwaTD AT: A hydrophilic compound holds moisture in. As you get into June and July, soil can be very dry. What we want is to have the hydrophilic component of the seed coating absorb moisture at planting and hold it around the seed. That moisture is held there for the seed to get established. A word of note: there must be free moisture in the soil. If you plant in dry soil, it won’t suck up moisture. These coatings are hydrophilic, not hydroscopic. Germination: How are these prod- ucts being commercialized? JK: There are a number of stages involved to develop a microbial- based product. First comes strain selection, then a screening stage in which factors like on-seed survival and safety are assessed. In the next stage, formulation is considered (liquid vs. powder, best technology for on-seed application). Finally, it undergoes several years of field trial testing before heading to the final stage which includes final formulation selection, fermentation scale-up, treating scale-up, regulatory testing and large-scale field performance prior to launch. RT: We now have a dedicated seed and soilborne pathogens screening program. All molecules are screened not only for efficacy against foliar diseases, but against all major dis- eases attacking the seed and seedling in the soil. That’s in contrast to what we used to do, where we’d find an active ingredient that was a good fungicide, develop it for foliar use, and then look to see if there was a fit on seed or in soil. That change in philosophy has allowed us to identify a couple of molecules that we don’t think would have passed screening for a foliar fungicide but have been found to be very effective on seed or in soil. Germination: What should farmers keep in mind when comparing biolog- ical and chemical solutions especially with regard to consistency of perfor- mance and expectation of results? RT: The one word that pops out for me is expectation. Some of these products don’t have a requirement to submit efficacy data to receive regis- tration. Make sure you ask questions about the product. If there’s only been one trial, how credible is that data? At BASF we give a lot of info about what the grower can expect. If you want to know how something works, ask for data.