Disclosed are methods of improving germination rates of plants/crops, as well as preventing or arresting water evaporation loss from targeted soil areas, which allows for improved water usage efficiency by crops, plants, grasses, vegetation, etc.

Vegetable material coating subject to dehydration and oxidation, sugar cane buds or setts preferably, which involve a substrate, an agglutinant agent, a plasticizing agent, and a biodegradable film or coverage. Such substrate can be from commercial crops, earth, cellulose, corn shell or other cereals, perlome, bagasse, fertile earth, compost, sand, coconut fibre or other vegetable origin fibres, or their combinations. The agglutinant agent can be proteins, fat, vegetable gums, modified starch and/or starch gels, dextrins, maltodextrins, carboxymetylcellulose, cellulose, kitosane mixed with polyalcohols, pectin, agar, alginate, sorbitol or other polyalcohols, glycerides, such as fats and vegetable and animal oils, water-proofing agents, polymeric plasticizing agents, phosphates, acetyl monoglycerides, glycerol, gat acids, sorbitol or other polyalcohols. Coating can be polysaccharides of a protein, lepidic composition or a combination of both, microperforated film, parafilm, and PLA (polylactic acid), biodegradable film poly (lactic acid), poly (hydroxybutyrate), poly (hydroxybutyrate-co-valerate), or their mixtures. Fats, pectins, cellulose, waxes, starch films or other polysaccharides, alginate, calcium carbonate, vinyl coatings, plastic paints. Mixtures can be obtained from solution mixing, preformed matrix resulting from moulting or merging. The biodegradable film or coating can comprise different types of perforations, for instance, circular, lengthwise, perforations, cuts, inserts, notches, etc. Moreover, it can be of different colours according to the variety, storage time, planting time, etc. Such coating can be vacuum sealed, by means of double thermal sealing, etc.

Vegetable material coating subject to dehydration and oxidation, sugar cane buds or setts preferably, which involve a substrate, an agglutinant agent, a plasticizing agent, and a biodegradable film or coverage. Such substrate can be from commercial crops, earth, cellulose, corn shell or other cereals, perlome, bagasse, fertile earth, compost, sand, coconut fibre or other vegetable origin fibres, or their combinations. The agglutinant agent can be proteins, fat, vegetable gums, modified starch and/or starch gels, dextrins, maltodextrins, carboxymetylcellulose, cellulose, kitosane mixed with polyalcohols, pectin, agar, alginate, sorbitol or other polyalcohols, glycerides, such as fats and vegetable and animal oils, water-proofing agents, polymeric plasticizing agents, phosphates, acetyl monoglycerides, glycerol, gat acids, sorbitol or other polyalcohols. Coating can be polysaccharides of a protein, lepidic composition or a combination of both, microperforated film, parafilm, and PLA (polylactic acid), biodegradable film poly (lactic acid), poly (hydroxybutyrate), poly (hydroxybutyrate-co-valerate), or their mixtures. Fats, pectins, cellulose, waxes, starch films or other polysaccharides, alginate, calcium carbonate, vinyl coatings, plastic paints. Mixtures can be obtained from solution mixing, preformed matrix resulting from moulting or merging. The biodegradable film or coating can comprise different types of perforations, for instance, circular, lengthwise, perforations, cuts, inserts, notches, etc. Moreover, it can be of different colours according to the variety, storage time, planting time, etc. Such coating can be vacuum sealed, by means of double thermal sealing, etc.

This invention relates to methods and materials for providing a benefit to a plant by associating the plant with a complex endophyte comprising a host fungus further comprising a component bacterium, including benefits to a plant derived from a seed or other plant element treated with a complex endophyte. For example, this invention provides purified complex endophytes, purified complex endophyte components such as bacteria or fungi, synthetic combinations comprising said complex endophytes and/or components, and methods of making and using the same.

Methods of producing sugar cane transplant units that includes planting sugar cane propagation materials in a non-segregated planting medium to produce a sugar cane where the planting of the sugar cane propagation materials results in an emerged plant density of 25 to 200 plants per square meter; growing the sugar plant to an age of at least 4 months; harvesting the stalks of the sugar cane plant when the stalks have a length of 10 to 100 centimeters; cutting the harvested stalks into stalk segments, wherein the stalk segments are cut to a length of 1 to 5 centimeters; and planting one or more of the stalk segments into a planting container that has a volume from 10 to 200 cubic centimeters.

Methods of producing sugar cane transplant units that includes planting sugar cane propagation materials in a non-segregated planting medium to produce a sugar cane where the planting of the sugar cane propagation materials results in an emerged plant density of 25 to 200 plants per square meter; growing the sugar plant to an age of at least 4 months; harvesting the stalks of the sugar cane plant when the stalks have a length of 10 to 100 centimeters; cutting the harvested stalks into stalk segments, wherein the stalk segments are cut to a length of 1 to 5 centimeters; and planting one or more of the stalk segments into a planting container that has a volume from 10 to 200 cubic centimeters.

Use of a device D in agricultural applications, forestry or home and garden applications, wherein said device D is used for dispensing in the air, as a vapor, an active ingredient that is liquid at ambient temperature, wherein device D contains: —an aeration system that contains a pipe (2, 4, 510) opening into the open air and is configured to allow an airflow to pass through the pipe; —at least one distributor member (8, 208) that is in fluid connection with a storage container and is intended to be supplied with a liquid active ingredient from said storage container, said distributor member containing a porous body (8, 208) that contains micro-channels forming an outlet arranged in said pipe in order to constitute an evaporation zone for the active ingredient therein, wherein the pores present in said porous body are at least a part of the micro-pipes of the distributor member; —a heating member (11, 211, 132) arranged on or in the distributor member so as to control a flow of the active ingredient through the distributor member.

The present technology relates to coated growth medium blocks for growing of sugarcane plants that include a casing or wrapper and a cavity for receiving the growth medium and for receiving a plant, planting unit or plant part embedded within the growth medium. The casing forms an envelope around each block which includes an individual planting unit embedded within an appropriate growth medium.

The present technology relates to coated growth medium blocks for growing of sugarcane plants that include a casing or wrapper and a cavity for receiving the growth medium and for receiving a plant, planting unit or plant part embedded within the growth medium. The casing forms an envelope around each block which includes an individual planting unit embedded within an appropriate growth medium.

Methods of producing sugar cane transplant units that includes planting sugar cane propagation materials in a non-segregated planting medium to produce a sugar cane where the planting of the sugar cane propagation materials results in an emerged plant density of 25 to 200 plants per square meter; growing the sugar plant to an age of at least 4 months; harvesting the stalks of the sugar cane plant when the stalks have a length of 10 to 100 centimeters; cutting the harvested stalks into stalk segments, wherein the stalk segments are cut to a length of 1 to 5 centimeters; and planting one or more of the stalk segments into a planting container that has a volume from 10 to 200 cubic centimeters.