The rationale behind this method is two-fold. First, by not tilling or cultivating the soil, the farmer does not create a disturbed area which tend to be extremely susceptible to invasion by weeds. Secondly, the clay shell protects the seeds from wind and predation by birds, mammals, and insects. The vast majority of the arthropod community, including several seed consumers, inhabit the soil and surface litter. Seedballs encapsulate the seeds protecting them from these seed predators.
Seeds stay put until sufficient rainfall causes the clay to disintegrate and the seeds to germinate.
This is one natural analog for seedballs. Some have suggested that seedballs are similar to seeds passing through the gut of large herbivores and being deposited in clumps of manure. This is partly true, but the amount of disturbance caused by such herbivores would seem to negate the intended effects of seedball application. Seedballs might be more similar to seeds that manage to survive in the guts of birds and small mammals, although if all seeds were able to accomplish this feat, there would be no need for the human creation of seedballs. The pecan, which encases a nutrient-rich seed within a protective woody shell, may be another natural analogy.