Vacuum planters are often used to plant any of a variety of seeds, including seeds with odd shapes, such as corn seeds, pumpkin seeds, soybean seeds, among others. These planters have vertical plates with holes that are smaller than the seeds being planted. The planter draws a vacuum on the side of the plate opposite the container in which the seeds are stored. When the plate rotates through the storage container, atmospheric pressure holds seeds against the holes and allows the rotating plate to pick up seeds. As the plate rotates around past the seed tube, the vacuum is broken, allowing the seeds to drop down a seed tube.
A challenge associated with the use of vacuum planters to maximize seed singulation. Seed singulation refers to the ability of a planter to take one seed at a time off the vertical plate and drop it down the seed tube. Maximizing seed singulation is important. Skipped seed drops can create a loss within the planting row. Doubles increase population and cause the plants to struggle for nutrients and sunlight. Historically, small differences in seed type can affect singulation percentage.
In some cases, a polymer binder is included with the active ingredients in the treatment of seeds to bind the active ingredient to the seed. Seeds treated in such a manner can have increased percent singulation during planting, particularly vacuum planting, relative to when a polymer binder is not used. Historically, this polymer binder has been a polyolefin, such as a carboxylated styrene/butadiene dispersion. Nevertheless, a certain amount of doubles and skips are still generated during the vacuum planting process even when seeds are treated in such a manner. Any significant increase in percent singulation would be desirable in order to improve productivity and crop yield.
As a result, it would be desirable to provide seed treatments that significantly improve the percent singulation during planting, such as vacuum planting. The present invention was made in view of the foregoing desire.