There is an impending need to protect seeds and seedlings from various seed and soil-borne diseases to minimize crop losses and, thereby, fulfil the growing food demand. The growing seed and soil-borne diseases and unpredictable weather conditions have been leading to reduced crop yield. Seed coating applications protect the seeds from pests and soil-borne microorganisms in the environment. Thus, the farmers are inclined toward the seed coating application technique. Additionally, with this application technique, farmers can easily perform on-farm.
The seed-borne diseases, including root rot, wilt, blight, damping off, root-knot nematode, fungal disease, and early blight, are damaging the immunity power of seeds and seedlings. Hence, companies have developed seed treatment products in response to the present need for seed safety. These products aid in improving the quality, productivity, and sustainability of agricultural production systems, disease vector management in public health systems, and other applications. Therefore, countries in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, among other regions, are now inclined toward adopting treated seeds and seed treatment products.
In developing and undeveloped countries, farmers store the seeds from the previous yield and reuse them for sowing next year. During this period, seeds can get infected or affected by the environment. Thus, farmers follow various seed enhancement practices, including priming, steeping, hardening, pelleting, encrusting, and film-coating. As a result, seed treatment products are majorly consumed in these practices in developing and undeveloped countries.
The growing acceptance of the “biological seed treatment” idea around the world is also boosting demand for seed treatment products. With the increasing need to cater to the escalating demand for organic food and biological control solutions, several established agriculture industry players, as well as several start-ups, are introducing innovative biological seed treatment solutions in the global market. Some of the early adopter countries of advanced farming technologies include the U.S., Canada, Germany, Japan, France, and Australia. However, emerging nations, such as India and Brazil, are observing massive growth in the adoption of biological seed treatment solutions. This robust growth in emerging nations has been propelled by the increasing safety concerns and governments’ role in achieving the sustainability goal. The various global players are introducing biological seed treatment products for the seed dressing application technique.
Based on type, the seed treatment industry is segmented into two major categories, chemical and non-chemical. The non-chemical seed treatment is further segmented into biological seed treatment and physical seed treatment based on types and results.
Chemical seed treatment includes insecticide, fungicide, nematicide, fertilizers, plant growth nutrients, or a combination of crop protection chemicals. In contrast, non-chemical seed treatment includes bio-insecticide, bio-fungicide, bio-nematicide, bio-stimulants, bio-fertilizers, or a combination of biological crop protection solutions.
The crop type segment includes oilseeds, cereals and grains, fruits and vegetables, and other crops. Due to the rise in the price of genetically modified (GM) seeds, farmers are inclined toward the seed treatment process. Additionally, seed treatment solutions work as a safeguard for farmers to perform the seed treatment process before sowing. The seed treatment process protects the seeds from soil-borne diseases and helps in seed germination of oilseeds, cereals and grains, and fruits and vegetables.
The seed treatment industry comprises players such as Syngenta, BASF SE, Bayer AG, Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd., Dupont, UPL, Eastman Chemical Company, FMC Corporation, Nufarm, ADAMA, Solvay, Croda International Plc, Novozymes A/S, Valent U.S.A. Corporation, Certis Europe B.V., Koppert, Rallis India Limited., Rizobacter, Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc., Germains Seed Technology Inc., Precision Laboratories, LLC, BioWorks, and Plant Health Care plc.
The seed treatment industry represents a fragmented market in nature and is majorly dominated by new product launches and partnerships. Product innovation and introduction have helped companies to grow and sustain the competition by retaining present customers and attracting new ones with their constant introduction and improvisation of products. Partnership with regional players helps in expanding their business and increases their product availability in a particular country.
Read on to the more technical insights on seed treatment and its Upcoming Trends in the Industry at: https://bit.ly/3DPAKpQ
