SUPPORTED BY ENDORSED BY option for a slurry type setup. Employee training is always important. Anytime you are using seed treating equip- ment you could be letting an inexperienced operator mix a lot of high-dollar products together.” Testing Assurances In the end, every seed treat- ment must in one way or another add value. It must improve something about that seed. “There are a variety of analytical tests to determine that customers receive the products they’ve purchased,” says Amanda ver Helst, SGS laboratory research manager. “Dust-off evaluation is big. “Will the treatment come off the seed when it goes into the planter? We can measure the amount of seed treatment that will dustoff as the seed is handled. We can also deter- mine which components are in the dustoff material. Active ingredient analysis will deter- mine whether the remaining treatments are hitting target application rates.” Craig Nelson, Eurofins BioDiagnostics vice president, client services and marketing, agrees that there are plenty of reasons to test your seed. In talking with seed industry professionals about conducting seed treatment loading rate analysis of their treated seed lots, Nelson says he is frequently asked why this testing would be important to them. He lays out six reasons when having this discussion. • To ensure the seed treat- ment chemicals are not under applied, risking loss of protection. • Applying excess treatment means more money is spent than necessary. • Excess seed treatment can damage seeds and hinder germination. • To manage liability and to protect your reputation in the industry. • To comply with local, state and federal laws. • To ensure that the seed performs as expected in the field. Ultimately, treating seed at the labeled rate protects all stakehold- ers whether they are the grower, applicator, retailer or chemical company. Seed companies are doing everything in their power to make sure that seed treat- ments are used correctly and safely, and testing facilities are working to ensure that every- one gets what they expect. What’s New? Saltro is a new chemistry from Syngenta for control of sudden death syndrome (SDS) in soybeans caused by fusarium. Saltro also has activity against several nematode species with less phytotoxicity than caused by earlier products. Dale Ireland, Syngenta Seedcare technical product lead for U.S. corn and soy- bean, says Saltro easily goes into slurry with less tendency to build up on seed treating equipment and produces less dustoff to keep seed treatment on the seed. Commercial avail- ability is scheduled for third quarter 2019. Vayantis fungicide is another new product from Syngenta to help control Pythium and phytophthora in soybeans. Commercial avail- ability is scheduled for first quarter 2020. Vayantis pro- vides a new mode of action shown to be effective against all known isolates of all known species. NemaStrike technology from Bayer, is a true nemata- cide chemistry for corn, soybeans and cotton. It is scheduled to launch in 2019. Key to NemaStrike’s effective- ness is that less than 3 percent of the active ingredient ever goes beyond the root zone and into the soil. “This product controls nematodes up to 75 days through multiple generations,” Bayer’s Brown says. Originally scheduled for release in 2017, NemaStrike is now scheduled for release in 2019. BioRise 2 corn is a new Bayer biological. “Unlike most seed treat- ments which are defensive, this biological tends to be an offen- sive product,” Brown says. “It first releases phosphate that binds to other minerals in the soil. Over time, it will bind to calcium or magnesium. The penicillium in BioRise 2 will break those bonds so the fungi in the soil can take up the phosphate. “The second component of this is LCO icooliosaccharide, which naturally stimulates beneficial fungi in the soil to colonize around the plant root hairs.” Brown explains that they cannot make their own energy, so they pass water and soil nutrients to the plant in return for a tiny amount of carbohydrate. This symbiotic process continually extends the plants’ root system so the fungi can keep reaching water and nutrients. Talking about new prod- ucts, equipment advance- ments, safety and testing brings the seed treatment process into full view. SW 22 / SEEDWORLD.COM JANUARY 2019 Amanda ver Helst, SGS