SEED COATINGS COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS FOR USE

Abstract

A seed or seedling is coated with a least one rosin-based resin and optionally, a second binder, which is for instance a biodegradable polymer. The seed coating composition is characterized by a dust value, as measured using a Heubach dustmeter device according to Euroseeds reference method “Assessment of free floating dust and abrasion particles of treated seeds as a parameter of the quality of treated seeds”, which is lower by at least 30% as compared to an analogous binder-free composition that does not contain the rosin-based resin.

Claims

1-12. (canceled)

13. A coated seed composition comprising: at least one seed; and at least one layer coating all or part of the seed, the layer comprising at least one rosin-based resin.

14. The composition of claim 13, wherein the at least one rosin-based resin has a Ring and Ball softening point ranging from about 10° C. to about 150° C.

15. The composition of claim 13 comprising a dust value, as measured using a Heubach dustmeter device according to the Euroseeds reference method, which is lower by at least 30% as compared to an analogous binder-free composition that does not contain the rosin-based resin.

16. The composition of claim 13, wherein the rosin-based resin does not comprise polymers within the meaning of Article 3(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006.

17. The composition according to claim 13, further comprising a second binder.

18. The composition of claim 13 further comprising at least one active ingredient.

19. A method for preparing a coated seed composition having dust suppression benefits comprising the step of contacting at least a portion of at least one seed with at least one layer comprising at least one rosin-based resin, wherein the coated seed composition comprises a dust value, as measured using a Heubach dustmeter device according to the Euroseeds reference method, which is lower by at least 30% as compared to an analogous binder-free composition that does not contain the rosin-based resin.

20. The method of claim 19, characterized by a dust value, as measured using a Heubach dustmeter device according to the Euroseeds reference method, which is lower by at least 50% as compared to an analogous binder-free composition that does not contain the rosin-based resin.

21. The method of claim 19, further comprising a second binder.

22. A method of providing dust suppression, the method comprising using at least one rosin-based resin as defined in claim 13 as a binder for a seed coating application.

23. A seed coating composition comprising at least one rosin-based resin as defined in claim 13.

24. The seed coating composition of claim 23, further comprising a second binder.

Description

EXAMPLES

Example 1

[0139] Seed treatment formulation containing two fungicide slurries, water and a dispersion of rosin-based resin are prepared by mixing all the components by magnetic agitation. The formulation without rosin-based resin is considered as the control. A commercial styrene acrylic latex dispersion (SAL) was utilized as a benchmark and applied at the recommended dose rate: 20 mL/qt. Corn seeds of the variety A were treated with the different formulations with a laboratory seed coater Norogard R150 as follows: weight seeds and introduce them into the seed coater chamber, turn on seed coater (300 rpm), introduce seed treatment slurry, turn off seed coater (after 15 seconds of rotation) and discharge the treated seeds. The compositions of seed treatment formulations applied on seeds are detailed in Table 1.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Formulation Formulation Formulation Component 1 2 3 Fungicide slurry 1  75 mL/qt  75 mL/qt  75 mL/qt Fungicide slurry 2 250 mL/qt 250 mL/qt 250 mL/qt Water 690 mL/qt 690 mL/qt 690 mL/qt SAL (benchmark) —  20 mL/qt — Dispersion of rosin-based — —  35 mL/qt resin 1.sup.a)

[0140] The coating processability of the different formulations was evaluated through three criteria: caking, wetness and residue. .sup.a) Dispersion of rosin-based resin 1: dispersion of rosin acid with a solids equals to 57% and a softening point to 75° C.

[0141] Caking evaluation was evaluated with the following protocol: a solid container was filled with freshly treated seeds, the container is kept at rest for 15 minutes without any mechanical disturbance, after 15 minutes the container is tilted until the seeds start to flow and the formation of any seed aggregates is monitored. If no aggregates are formed the test results is PASS, if some seeds aggregates are observed the rest results is NOT PASS.

[0142] For wetness criteria, the seeds were observed just after treatment and their wetness was visually evaluated ranging from: dry, slightly wet and wet.

[0143] For residue criteria, the seed coater chamber just after treatment was observed to qualitatively evaluate the amount of residual ranging from: no residual, slightly residual, high amount of residual. The results of the caking tests, wetness and residuals observations are presented in Table 2.

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 F3 (rosin-based F1 (reference) F2 (benchmark) resin) Caking result PASS PASS PASS Wetness result dry dry Dry Residual result No residual No residual No residual

[0144] As shown in Table 2, no caking issue were observed. All the formulations tested were able to coat seeds easily.

[0145] Dust measurements were also performed on the seeds treated with the different formulations with a Heubach dustmeter equipment according to Euroseeds reference method “Assessment of free floating dust and abrasion particles of treated seeds as a parameter of the quality of treated seeds”. Treated seeds are introduced in the metal drum of the Heubach device, the drum is then reassembled and connected to the glass cylinder. A glass fiber filter disc is placed in the filter unit, the filter unit is then weighted and after placed on the glass cylinder and connected to the vacuum tube. The drum is put in rotation (30 rpm). The vacuum pump creates an air flow through the rotating drum, by the air flow the abraded dust particle are transported out of the rotating drum through the glass cylinder and the filter unit. At the end of the rotation, the filter unit is removed from the glass cylinder and weight. The Heubach dust value is expressed in g/100 kg of treated seeds and is calculated as the ratio of the weight difference of the filter unit after and before the test and the weight of treated seeds. The test is performed twice, the final results is the mean of the two measurements. The settings of the Heubach equipment are set as follows: rotation speed 60 rpm, rotation time 240 seconds, seed quantity 200 g and airflow rate 20 L/min. The dust measurements are performed on seeds treated with the different formulations. The results are summarized in Table 3.

TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Dust level Standard Binder (g/100 kg) deviation Control 5.8 0.25 SAL (Benchmark) 1.8 0.03 Dispersion of rosin-based resin 1.sup.a) 35 mL/qt 2.0 0.4

[0146] The two binders reduce the dust emission compared to the control seeds. Comparable performances in terms of dust reduction are obtained for the benchmark and the dispersion of rosin-based resin 1 at 35 mL/qt. .sup.a) Dispersion of rosin-based resin 1: dispersion of rosin acid with a % solids equals to 57% and a softening point to 75° C.

Example 2

[0147] Seed treatment formulation containing two fungicide slurries, water and different dispersions of rosin-based resin are prepared by mixing all the components by magnetic agitation. The formulation without rosin-based resin is considered as the control. A commercial styrene acrylic latex dispersion (SAL) was utilized as a benchmark and applied at the recommended dose rate 20 mL/qt and at a higher dose rate 70 mL/qt. Corn seeds of the variety B were treated with the different formulations with a laboratory seed coater Norogard R150 as follows: weight seeds and introduce them into the seed coater chamber, turn on seed coater (300 rpm), introduce seed treatment slurry, turn off seed coater (after 15 seconds of rotation) and discharge the treated seeds. The compositions of seed treatment formulations applied on seeds are detailed in Table 4.

TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 Component Formulation 5 Formulation 6 Formulation 7 Formulation 8 Formulation 9 Formulation 10 Formulation 11 Fungicide slurry 1 75 mL/qt 75 mL/qt 75 mL/qt 75 mL/qt 75 mL/qt 75 mL/qt 75 mL/qt Fungicide slurry 2 250 mL/qt 250 mL/qt 250 mL/qt 250 mL/qt 250 mL/qt 250 mL/qt 250 mL/qt Water 690 mL/qt 690 mL/qt 690 mL/qt 690 mL/qt 690 mL/qt 690 mL/qt 690 mL/qt SAL (benchmark) — 20 mL/qt 70 mL/qt — — — — Dispersion of rosin- — — — — — 35 mL/qt — based resin 1.sup.a) Dispersion of rosin- — — — 70 mL/qt 35 mL/qt — — based resin 2.sup.b) Dispersion of rosin- — — — — — — 35 mL/qt based resin 3.sup.c) .sup.a)Dispersion of rosin-based resin 1: dispersion of rosin acid with a % solids equals to 57% and a softening point to 75° C. .sup.b)Dispersion of rosin-based resin 2: dispersion of modified rosin ester with a % solids equals to 54% and a softening point to 45° C. .sup.c)Dispersion of rosin-based resin 3: dispersion of rosin ester with a % solids equals to 56% and a softening point to 76° C.

[0148] The coating processability of the different formulations was evaluated through three criteria: caking, wetness and residue.

[0149] Caking evaluation was evaluated with the following protocol: a solid container was filled with freshly treated seeds, the container is kept at rest for 15 minutes without any mechanical disturbance, after 15 minutes the container is tilted until the seeds start to flow and the formation of any seed aggregates is monitored. If no aggregates are formed the test results is PASS, if some seeds aggregates are observed the rest results is NOT PASS.

[0150] For wetness criteria, the seeds were observed just after treatment and their wetness was visually evaluated ranging from: dry, slightly wet and wet.

[0151] For residue criteria, the seed coater chamber just after treatment was observed to qualitatively evaluate the amount of residual ranging from: no residual, slightly residual, high amount of residual. The results of the caking tests, wetness and residuals observations are presented in Table 5.

TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 5 F8 F9 F10 F11 F5 F6 F7 (rosin-based (rosin-based (rosin-based (rosin-based (reference) (benchmark) (benchmark) resin 2) resin 2) resin 1) resin 3) Caking PASS PASS PASS PASS PASS PASS PASS result Wetness dry dry dry Dry dry dry dry result Residual No No No No No No No result residual residual residual Residual residual residual residual

[0152] As shown in Table 5, no caking issues were observed for any of the formulations tested. All the formulations tested were able to coat seeds easily.

[0153] Dust measurements were also performed on the seeds treated with the different formulations with a Heubach dustmeter equipment according to Euroseeds reference method “Assessment of free floating dust and abrasion particles of treated seeds as a parameter of the quality of treated seeds”. Treated seeds are introduced in the metal drum of the Heubach device, the drum is then reassembled and connected to the glass cylinder. A glass fiber filter disc is placed in the filter unit, the filter unit is then weighted and after placed on the glass cylinder and connected to the vacuum tube. The drum is put in rotation (30 rpm). The vacuum pump creates an air flow through the rotating drum, by the air flow the abraded dust particle are transported out of the rotating drum through the glass cylinder and the filter unit. At the end of the rotation, the filter unit is removed from the glass cylinder and weight. The Heubach dust value is expressed in g/100 kg of treated seeds and is calculated as the ratio of the weight difference of the filter unit after and before the test and the weight of treated seeds. The test is performed twice, the final results is the mean of the two measurements. The settings of the Heubach equipment are set as follows: rotation speed 60 rpm, rotation time 240 seconds, seed quantity 200 g and airflow rate 20 L/min. The dust measurements are performed on seeds treated with the different formulations. The results are summarized in Table 6.

TABLE-US-00006 TABLE 6 Dust level Standard Binder (g/100 kg) deviation Control 10.4 0.5 SAL (Benchmark) - 20 mL/qt 5.5 0.1 SAL (Benchmark) - 70 mL/qt 1.0 0.1 Dispersion of rosin-based resin 2.sup.b) 70 mL/qt 1.2 0.1 Dispersion of rosin-based resin 2 .sup.b) 35 mL/qt 2.2 0.1 Dispersion of rosin-based resin 1 .sup.a) 35 mL/qt 4.0 0.2 Dispersion of rosin-based resin 3 .sup.c) 35 mL/qt 2.8 0.1 .sup.a) Dispersion of rosin-based resin 1: dispersion of rosin acid with a % solids equals to 57% and a softening point to 75° C. .sup.b) Dispersion of rosin-based resin 2: dispersion of modified rosin ester with a % solids equals to 54% and a softening point to 45° C. .sup.c) Dispersion of rosin-based resin 3: dispersion of rosin ester with a % solids equals to 56% and a softening point to 76° C.

[0154] The 6 binders reduce the dust emission compared to the control. The 3 different dispersions of rosin-based resin trigger a significant reduction of dust emission compared to the formulation without binder, ranging from −61% to −88% of relative decrease. Comparable performances in terms of dust reduction are obtained the dispersion of rosin-based resin 2 at 70 mL/qt and for the benchmark at 70 mL/qt.

Example 3

[0155] Biopolymer A is a biopolymer latex, more particularly an internally crosslinked starch (including amylose and amylopectin) particles having an average particle size in the range of 50 to 150 nm. The product is provided in the form of a dry powder of agglomerated nanoparticles with a volume mean diameter of about 300 microns

[0156] Binder formulations based on dispersion of Biopolymer A (starch particles) and dispersion of rosin-based resin were prepared as follows: starch particles are dispersed in demineralized water at a concentration equals to 35%, then dispersion of rosin-based resin is added to reach a final concentration in the formulation equals to 50% w/w. The different formulations of binder are detailed in Table 7.

TABLE-US-00007 TABLE 7 Formulation Formulation Component F12 F13 Biopolymer A (starch particles) 17.5% 17.5% Dispersion of rosin-based resin 4 .sup. 50% — Dispersion of rosin-based resin 5 — .sup. 50% Water 32.5% 32.5%

[0157] In the Table 8 are presented the characteristics of the dispersion of rosin-based resin.

TABLE-US-00008 TABLE 8 Dispersion of rosin- Dispersion of rosin- Characteristics based resin 4 based resin 5 Softening point (° C.) 37 85 % solids 60 51

[0158] The viscosity of the binder formulation F12 and F13 were measured with a Brookfield apparatus LV at 20 rpm at 20° C. Measurements are presented in Table 9.

TABLE-US-00009 TABLE 9 Formulation Viscosity (cP) Formulation F12 2140 Formulation F13 10110

[0159] An acceptable viscosity (<3000 cP) is obtained for the binder formulation based on the rosin resin with the lower softening point (37° C.). For the other formulation based on a rosin resin with a high softening point (85° C.), a viscosity superior to 10 000 cP is measured, which is not acceptable for binder formulation.

[0160] Seed treatment formulation containing two fungicide slurries, water and binder formulations F12 or F13 are prepared by mixing all the components by magnetic agitation. A formulation without binder formulation is considered as the control. A commercial styrene acrylic latex dispersion (SAL) was utilized as a benchmark. Corn seeds of the variety C were treated with the different formulations with a laboratory seed coater Norogard R150 as follows: weight seeds and introduce them into the seed coater chamber, turn on seed coater (300 rpm), introduce seed treatment slurry, turn off seed coater (after 15 seconds of rotation) and discharge the treated seeds. The compositions of seed treatment formulations applied on seeds are detailed in Table 10.

TABLE-US-00010 TABLE 10 Formulation Formulation Formulation Formulation Component 14 15 16 17 Fungicide  75 mL/qt  75 mL/qt  75 mL/qt  75 mL/qt slurry 1 Fungicide 250 mL/qt 250 mL/qt 250 mL/qt 250 mL/qt slurry 2 Water 690 mL/qt 690 mL/qt 690 mL/qt 690 mL/qt SAL —  20 mL/qt — — (benchmark) Formulation 12 — —  20 mL/qt — Formulation 13 — — —  20 mL/qt

[0161] Dust measurements were performed on the seeds treated with the four formulations with a Heubach dustmeter equipment according to Euroseeds reference method “Assessment of free floating dust and abrasion particles of treated seeds as a parameter of the quality of treated seeds”. Treated seeds are introduced in the metal drum of the Heubach device, the drum is then reassembled and connected to the glass cylinder. A glass fiber filter disc is placed in the filter unit, the filter unit is then weighted and after placed on the glass cylinder and connected to the vacuum tube. The drum is put in rotation (30 rpm). The vacuum pump creates an air flow through the rotating drum, by the air flow the abraded dust particle are transported out of the rotating drum through the glass cylinder and the filter unit. At the end of the rotation, the filter unit is removed from the glass cylinder and weight. The Heubach dust value is expressed in g/100 kg of treated seeds and is calculated as the ratio of the weight difference of the filter unit after and before the test and the weight of treated seeds. The test is performed twice, the final results is the mean of the two measurements. The settings of the Heubach equipment are set as follows: rotation speed 60 rpm, rotation time 240 seconds, seed quantity 200 g and airflow rate 20 L/min. The dust measurements are performed on seeds treated with the four formulations. The results are summarized in Table 11.

TABLE-US-00011 TABLE 11 Dust level Standard Binder (g/100 kg) deviation Control 10.6 0.1 SAL (Benchmark) 6.5 0.2 Formulation F12 6.5 0.2 Formulation F13 6.3 0.4

[0162] The two binder formulations F12 and F13 based on the dispersion of starch particles and the dispersion of rosin-based resin reduce the dust emission compared to the control seeds. Comparable performances in terms of dust reduction are obtained for the benchmark and the two binder formulations F12 and F13.

[0163] It is understood that embodiments other than those expressly described herein come within the spirit and scope of the present claims. Accordingly, the invention described herein is not defined by the above description, but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent compositions and methods.