Seed treatment
EF SEED MAX
HIGH TECH SEED TREATMENT
There is no input more cost-effective than a well-formulated seed treatment, because providing a balanced
nutrient package for the seed can be the ‘mother’s milk’ of plant production. The mineral requirements at germination may
be minuscule, but the beauty of seed feeding relates to these low inputs. A handful of small change can kick-start a crop
so efficiently that only serious nutrition mismanagement later in the crop can prevent substantial yield increases (based
on this early momentum).
If you can get your crop off to a good start, then this should always translate into improved yield. If there are no
obvious gains after harvest, then, presuming the presence of sufficient moisture, it is safe to assume that there was
insufficient nutritional support to sustain the early gains. In this case, your fertilising or crop monitoring strategies
may be overdue for an overhaul.
WHY COMPLICATE OPTIONS WITH FIVE DIFFERENT FORMULAS?
Nutrient-based seed treatments have always involved just a single formula, and there is an obvious appeal to this
simplicity. However, EF research suggests that this is one case where more is better. Each of the Seed Max components
offers unique benefits as a stand-alone, but here we find the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. When you have
discovered four different formulas that work so well alone (and even better when combined), but it is not viable for them
to be stored as a single formulation, then there is justification to complicate matters with a Five-Pack concept. The fact
is that the seed is susceptible to numerous influences, and this hungry embryo can be fed a complex package much more
cost-effectively when sustaining a few milligrams of plant matter, compared to a 500-g growing plant.
THE FOUR FACES OF SEED MAX
1. Seed-Micro: This recently developed formula combines chelated minerals with six natural hormones, fulvic acid and kelp.
Seed-Stimulator features very high levels of manganese and zinc – Manganese because it is a renowned ‘seed energiser’ and
zinc because the majority of broad acre soils are zinc deficient, and seed treatment is often the only affordable
‘one-shot’ zinc supplement for broad acre. Seed-micro features chelated trace minerals which magnifies nutrient
availability for both seed and seedling while also stimulating beneficial microorganisms. The trace element analysis of
this product is the highest of any seed treatment currently available. In fact, the additional hormones, stimulants and
broad-spectrum minerals in Seed-Micro lift this product to a completely new level, and this is before we consider the
advantage of the other three formulas.
2. Seed-Macro: Seed-Start is a liquid fertiliser. Which are proven performers as foliar-applied yield-boosters, but in
recent seasons they have also gained popularity as seed dressings. A unique, buffered ‘hot-mix’ is part of the success
equation, but it is the fusion of seventy complexed trace minerals, fulvic and humic acids, seventeen amino acids, seven
natural hormones and several enzyme stimulants which really push the seed-raising potential of the formula. Both
Seed-Micro and Seed-Macro also offer mineral and carbohydrate nutrition for the two microbial inputs that complete the
Four pack approach.
3. EF Nitrogen Fixers: This bio fertiliser features huge numbers of a free-living, nitrogen-fixing bacterium called
Azotobacter. Thirty years of research, involving 40,000 field trials, validates the seed treatment potential of this
product. A seed dressing, involving just 100 ml of EF Nitrogen Fixers per hectare, supplies 100 billion Azotobacter cysts
to the root-zone, which, upon activation, can provide four distinct benefits, including:
• Nitrogen Supplementation: This microbial seed dressing can supply the equivalent of thirty units of nitrogen, largely in
the form of amino acids, which can lift the protein-building potential of the plant.
• Hormonal Stimulation: Azotobacter release cytokinins, auxins and gibberellins as a metabolic byproduct. Two of these
hormones are proven germination enhancers and seedling kick-starters.
• Vitamin Supply: Vitamin C and the B group are some of the vitamins that appear to play a role in plant health.
Azotobacter manufacture and supply these supplements in the root-zone.
• Disease Protection: Azotobacter produce an antibiotic, which can aid in the management of pathogens in the vulnerable
establishment period.
4. EF Phosphate Solubisers:
The CSIRO has estimated that 10 billion dollars of phosphate is ‘lock up’ in an insoluble form in our agricultural
soils.[This is clearly indicated in a comprehensive soil phosphate assay. EF Phosphate Solubisers contains a blend of
bacteria capable of releasing part of this insoluble phosphate stored in the soil matrix. Ultimately releasing
biologically available phosphate throughout the crop cycle and can have a marked impact on yield and quality.
5. EF Bio-VAM
The addition of Bio-Vam enhances the diversity of benefical micro organisms in direct contact with the germinating seed.
This packaged army will set up the first line of defense for the young seedling ,and aid in the resistance from attacking
soil borne pathogens.
THE FIVE PACK
Seed-Micro and Seed-Macro are a complete nutrient package, when used in conjunction, and this twin-pack allows
combinations that are not possible in a single combination (due to pH constraints). Microbes are also sensitive to pH – In
fact, from a biological perspective, the extreme acidity (based upon phosphoric acid) of some of the popular one-pack
formulations is a problem. Beneficial microbes prefer a pH environment of 5.5 to 7. When the four Life-Force components
are combined, the final pH of the mix is a microbe-nurturing pH 6. The Azotobacter found in both of the biological
inoculants have specific nutrient requirements, which are supplied in the complex mineral composition of both Seed-Macro
and Seed-Micro, i.e. iron, molybdenum, cobalt and phosphate are all essential to maximise nitrogen fixation. These
fertilisers also contain carbohydrates, protein and other essential bio-stimulants.
The SEED-MAX five pack may appear more complicated than the standard single-pack formulation, but in reality the
application involves a few minutes of extra effort for a multitude of additional benefits.
Seed treatment represents the highest cost-to-benefit ratio of any input in broad acre farming, and it should ideally form
an integral part of every fertiliser program.
CORN/GRASSES/TREES/VINES
PUMPKINS/LETTUCES/FLOWERS LEGUMES - CLOVER
Product Application Rate Product Application Rate
Seed-Micro 1-3 litres / tonne Seed-Micro 1-3 litres / tonne
Seed-Macro 1-3 litres / tonne Seed-Macro 1-3 litres / tonne
EF N-Fixers 1-3 litres / tonne EF Phosphate Solubisers 1-2 litres / tonne
EF Phosphate Solubisers 1-3 litres / tonne EF Bacillus-Subtilus* 1-2 litres / tonne
EF Bio-VAM 500gms / tonne EF Bio-VAM 500gms / tonne
• EF B-Sub contains a bacterium called Bacillus subtilis, which is antagonistic to a wide range of the soil diseases that
affect legumes
COSTINGS
THE AVERAGE COST FOR ANY SEED TREATMENT IS IN THE RANGE OF $0.50-$1.00/KG OF SEED
eg. MAIZE SEED SOWN @ 110 000 PLANTS/HA WOULD COST A GROWER ON AVERAGE $11-$13/HA,AN ALMOST INSIGNIFICANT COST WHEN YOU
LOOK AT THE INHERENT BENEFITS AND TRIAL RESULTS REPORTED BACK.
2001 TRIALS INDICATED A 4000-6000KG of DM ADVANTAGE OVER CONVENTIONALLY GROWN CROPS.@ $0.30/KGDM AN ADDITIONAL
$1200-$1800/HA RETURN TO THE GROWER WITH NO EXTRA COSTS
SERVICE –
Environmental Fertilisers now has the capacity to treat seed for the grower at their factory saving the grower time and
effort.
