Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76and automated irrigation. Even under drought condi- tions, yields were 10 to 20 percent higher compared to traditionally-farmed plots, according to the company. And seed treatments are part of this strategy. “With seed treatments, we can make a plant more effi- cient,” Battles says. “The more we can protect the roots, the more we can get a healthy plant at harvest.” His colleague Chad Vest, a Syngenta Seedcare repre- sentative, agrees. As we look at water and how it affects yield, water is the transportation system that takes nutrients out of the soil, as well as providing structure for the plant itself. Seed treat- ments can definitely help the plant absorb more nutrients and water out of the ground. In doing so, this allows for more metabolism efficiencies in the plant, and maybe most notably is water use efficiency. Seed treatments have a very big effect on root mass, which correlates with water and nutrient uptake, which impacts overall plant health, Vest says. Clark adds that certain seed treatments provide unique benefits, other than disease protection, resulting in less stress in the field. He says that BASF keeps this notion in mind when developing new innovations. “We are using the same amount of water but getting more efficient growth,” Clark says, referring to products containing the F500 mol- ecule or pyraclostrobin. These products are Stamina for corn, Stamina F3 Cereals for wheat and Vault HP plus Integral for soybeans. Also, Vest explains that as seed treatments enable farmers to plant earlier in the season, it allows plants to cap- ture more water earlier. “This is very important,” he says. “As we head into the later part of the season, I think the residual effects — because we can see increased root mass later in the season due to early-season seed treat- ment application — allow us to capture more moisture.” Protecting the plant in the beginning leads to a healthier, higher-yielding plant in the end. Battles says that by managing more of these “nibbler” type pests, such as Rhizoctonia, Pythium and Phytophthora, growers are getting bigger root mass on each plant with more fibers and hairs, which are primarily responsible for water uptake. Battles explains that this not only helps with water use efficiency but also overall plant health and vigor. As such, with its Cruiser seed treatment, which con- tains the active ingredient Thiamethoxam, Syngenta was able to patent vigor due to the increased level of plant vigor beyond what appears to be a standard plant response to increased protection from an insecticide. The “vigor effect” can be attributed to the biosynthesis of specific functional plant proteins. A research paper in the journal Plant Protection states: “These proteins help the plant to better cope with numerous adverse environ- mental growing factors, such as drought, heat stress ...” Genetic Synergies Tackling this same issue from a trait standpoint, Syngenta scientists and breeders developed what’s known as Agrisure Artesian — hybrids that contain multiple genes for season-long drought protection, responding to water stress with multiple modes of action. So how can seed treatments help a plant designed to better manage water stress? “As we look at Artesian and the alleles that make up the Artesian hybrids, it’s very important from a seed treat- ment perspective to give that plant the best, earliest start it can possibly have,” Vest says. “That plays a big role along with the fact that a lot of those alleles are root focused. “Because they are root focused, seed treatments def- initely help with proliferation and the ability for the root to not only repair itself, but also to stay healthy throughout the entire growing season.” “We are using the same amount of water but getting more efficient growth.” — Justin Clark FEBRUARY 2017 SEEDWORLD.COM / 27 Bruce Battles serves as Syngenta Seedcare technology manager. Justin Clark serves as BASF technical market manager.