Patent Description:
It is known to treat seeds and/or seedbeds in order to improve the seeds' germination and/or growth. The preparations used for these purposes may include fertilisers, biostimulants, pesticides, fungicides and bacteria. For example, <CIT> discloses encapsulating seeds with a composition that can include blends of various sulphates, soda ash, sulphur and potash as part of a compost coating. <CIT> discloses coating seeds with hydrophobic compounds which could include metal salts. An example composition disclosed in <CIT> includes potash waterglass (i.e. potassium silicate).

Whilst coating seeds with fertiliser might intuitively seem an attractive approach, in practice it has considerable difficulties. In particular, many fertiliser compositions that are effective when applied to a seedbed have been found to be unsuitable for coating seeds due the fact that they impair germination. (See, e.g., <CIT> at page <NUM>, lines <NUM> to <NUM>). There may be various reasons for this effect, but one is believed to be the creation of an excessively saline environment adjacent to the seed. Excessive salinity can desiccate the seed and the environment around it. It is generally considered that many fertiliser compositions should be applied no closer than, e.g. <NUM> to <NUM> from newly sown seeds. On account of these effects the fertiliser compositions that are used for coating seeds on a commercial basis are in general formulated specially for that purpose.

<CIT> discloses a seed coated with an inorganic mineral powder and a thermosetting resin powder.

<CIT> discloses a process primarily intended for the coating of alfalfa seeds with four layers of varying composition, including biological materials.

<CIT> discloses plant seeds coated with a layer of a sugar and water-insoluble polymeric material mixture.

<CIT> discloses a seed coating composition in which gypsum is used as a source of sulphur that acts together with molybdenum to stimulate nitrogen-fixing bacteria.

'<NPL> discloses the use of polyhalite in powder form as a nutrient source for fertilising.

It would be desirable to have a material that could be readily manufactured, and that could improve the germination and/or growth of seeds when applied to the seeds as a coating.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a coated seed product, the product comprising: at least one plant seed; and a coating adhered to the exterior of the plant seed, the coating comprising a binder and one or more evaporite minerals, wherein the one or more evaporate minerals comprise polyhalite, wherein the coating comprises more than <NUM>% polyhalite by weight.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of forming a coated seed product comprising: forming a slurry comprising an evaporite mineral powder and a binder, wherein the evaporate mineral is polyhalite; applying the slurry to plant seeds so as to coat the seeds with the slurry; and drying the seeds to stabilise the coating, the coating comprising more than <NUM>% polyhalite by weight.

The coating may comprise more than <NUM>%, <NUM>%, <NUM>%, <NUM>% or <NUM>% by weight of the evaporite mineral(s). The evaporite mineral content of the coating may be essentially solely of polyhalite.

The coating may comprise more than <NUM>%, <NUM>%, <NUM>%, <NUM>% or <NUM>% polyhalite by weight.

The one or more evaporite minerals may be in the form of a powder. The number average grain size of the powder may be less than <NUM>.

The average thickness of the coating may be in the range from <NUM> to <NUM>. The average thickness of the coating may be in the range from <NUM> to <NUM>.

The mass of the coating may be in the range from <NUM> to <NUM> per kg of seed. The mass of the coating may be in the range from <NUM> to <NUM> per kg of seed. The mass of the coating may be in the range from <NUM> to <NUM> per kg of seed. The mass of the coating averaged over a representative sample of the product may be in the range from <NUM> to <NUM> per kg of seed or <NUM> to <NUM> per kg of seed. That sample may contain more than <NUM> or more than <NUM>,<NUM> seeds. The mass of the sample may be greater than <NUM>.

An aspect of the invention may be a coated seed product comprising a certain amount of content, the product comprising: at least one plant seed; and a coating adhered to the exterior of the plant seed, the coating comprising one or more evaporite minerals; wherein the mass of the coating is (a) above any of <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> or <NUM> per kg of seed and/or (b) less than any of <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> or <NUM> per kg of seed. The content may be more than any of <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> or <NUM> and/or above <NUM>, <NUM>,<NUM> or <NUM>,<NUM> seeds.

The seed product may be a bulk seed product.

The seed may be a seed of a crop species. The seed may be a seed of a non-crop species.

The coating may comprise a binder whereby the one or more evaporite minerals is/are adhered to the exterior of the seed. The coating may comprise a matrix of binder in which particles of the one or more evaporite minerals are embedded. The coating may fully or partially enclose the seed. The binder may be susceptible to degradation on exposure to moisture. The binder may be such as to release at least <NUM>% of the mineral particles embedded therein on exposure to an atmosphere having a relative humidity of <NUM>% for two weeks.

The coating may be adhered directly to the exterior of the plant seed. The product may comprise an intermediate layer adhered directly to the exterior of the plant seed, and wherein the coating may be adhered to the intermediate layer. The intermediate layer may form a barrier layer between the exterior of the plant seed and the coating.

The seed may be a seed of beet, lettuce, oil seed rape, pea, rice or wheat, or of another plant.

The method may comprise mining the evaporite mineral(s). The method may comprise crushing the as-mined evaporite mineral(s) to form powder.

<FIG> shows a seed <NUM> having an exterior coating <NUM>. The coating comprises a matrix <NUM>, which is made up primarily of a binder, and particles <NUM>. The particles are particles of an evaporite mineral, comprising polyhalite. It has been found that seeds provided with such a coating can exhibit improved germination and/or growth over uncoated seeds.

<FIG> shows a seed <NUM> having an exterior coating <NUM>. The coating comprises a matrix <NUM>, which is made up primarily of a binder, and particles <NUM>. The coating may be adhered directly to the exterior surface of the seed or alternatively there may be one or more intermediate layers between the exterior surface of the seed and the exterior coating <NUM>. For example, the seed <NUM> also has a barrier layer <NUM> that is applied to the exterior of the seed <NUM>. The barrier layer <NUM> may be generally closer to the exterior of the seed <NUM> than the exterior coating <NUM>. The barrier layer <NUM> may provide protection to the seed <NUM> from being in contact with the exterior coating <NUM>. The seed <NUM> may also have a shell <NUM> applied to the exterior of the seed <NUM>. The shell <NUM> may be applied to the exterior of the exterior coating <NUM>. The shell <NUM> may therefore be generally farther from the exterior of the seed <NUM> than the exterior coating <NUM>. The shell <NUM> may protect the coated seed from moisture during storage and/or before the seed is sown. The shell <NUM> may also be coloured so that it can be established where the seeds have been sown. Although three layers are shown in <FIG>, the seed may have one or more layers of material adhered to the exterior of the seed.

Polyhalite is a complex hydrated sulphate of potassium, calcium and magnesium of general formula K<NUM>Ca<NUM>Mg(SO<NUM>)<NUM>·<NUM><NUM>O. Polyhalite has a Moh's hardness of around <NUM> to <NUM>.

Once mined, polyhalite may be broken into blocks or chips of suitable size for transport and processing. For example, referring to <FIG>, the as-mined rock may be fed to crushers such as jaw crushers <NUM> and/or cone crushers <NUM> in order to yield a chipped material of generally uniform size. It has been found that chips of largest dimension no greater than around <NUM> and/or of average dimension between <NUM> and <NUM> are convenient for transportation from a mine.

The raw or chipped polyhalite is processed to form a polyhalite powder. This may suitably be done by milling, for exampling in a ball mill (e.g. a continuous "Hardinge" ball mill) and more preferably an attritor mill <NUM>. In an attritor mill the feedstock is agitated together with freely moving grinding elements such as steel balls. Air-swept suction may be applied in order to draw the milled material out of the mill. This allows the milling to be performed as a continuous process if desired, with chipped feedstock being added to the mill and powder being swept out of the mill by gas flow whilst the grinding elements continue to be agitated. The average grain size of the powder is dependent on various process parameters including the dwell time of the feedstock in the mill. Conveniently, the mill may be arranged to produce polyhalite powder grain size in the range from <NUM> to <NUM>, more preferably from <NUM> to <NUM>. Conveniently at least <NUM>% or more preferably at least <NUM>% of the mass of the polyhalite powder is composed of grains having a grain size, or a largest or average diameter, in the range from <NUM> to <NUM>, more preferably from <NUM> to <NUM>. Conveniently <NUM>% by number of the grains of the powder are smaller than <NUM> in diameter. The grain size may be as measured by means of a Malvern Mastersizer <NUM> or as measured by means of a sieve shaker.

In the next processing step a binder is added to the polyhalite powder, along with a liquid such as water, in a mixer <NUM>. The binder helps the polyhalite powder to adhere to seeds and increases the strength of the eventual seed coating. That is important because the pellets should preferably be capable of resisting mechanical breakdown when spread through conventional agricultural drilling machinery. Any suitable binder may be used. Examples include starch, lignosulphates, sugars, milled grain, synthetic polymers such as polyvinyl acetate and dedicated seed coating binders such as Sepiret which is available from Agrichem (International) Limited. The optimal amount of binder may be determined by balancing the strength of the final coating with its ability to break down once spread on a growing medium. If too little binder is added then the resulting coated seeds may have insufficient strength and the coating may fall off the seeds during transport or drilling. If excess binder is added then the seed coating can be too resistant to breakdown in the field, impairing germination and/or growth of the seeds. One or more solid or liquid adjuvants may also be added. When it is added to the polyhalite powder the binder may be in dry form, e.g. as a powder, or in liquid form, e.g. as a suspension or solution in a liquid carrier.

In <FIG> a single mixer <NUM> is shown as combining the polyhalite powder, water and binder. In practice, it may be desirable to first combine the polyhalite and the binder in dry form and then to add the water. This can improve the homogeneity of the resulting slurry. To achieve this, the dry components (if the binder is added in dry form) could be mixed in a first mixer until homogeneous, and then transferred to a second mixer where water is added to form a slurry. Alternatively, the dry components could be combined in a mixer and then water added to that mixer once the dry components had been mixed.

The slurry is introduced to a rotating drum <NUM>, along with seeds. The drum tumbles or rolls the seeds together with the slurry in order to coat the seeds with the slurry. The slurry may be sprayed into the drum.

Then the coated seeds pass to a dryer <NUM> which drives off excess moisture and stabilises (e.g. hardens) the coating, forming a supply of coated seeds as illustrated at <NUM>. The seeds can then be packaged and transported to the growing site for planting or spreading.

The coated seeds may form a coated seed product, which may comprise many such seeds.

Once the seeds have been sown on or in a growing medium, the coating breaks down in the presence of moisture. That permits the moisture to reach the seed, assisting in inducing it to germinate.

The seeds could be coated using other processes. For example, the seeds could be coated in binder and then tumbled in the polyhalite powder; or the seeds could be tumbled in polyhalite powder without binder, to cause a dusting of polyhalite powder to adhere to the seeds.

Additional components could be included in the coating. Such components may be any one or more of the following, in any combination:.

Such a component may be added at various stages in the process, for example it could be combined with the polyhalite powder before or after the formation of a slurry as described above, or with the binder prior to the mixing stage as described above, or it could be sprayed or otherwise coated on to the seeds before or after drying. The component could be sprayed or otherwise coated on to the seeds before the seeds are coated with the slurry, for example one or more components could be applied to the seed prior to the seeds being coated by the slurry.

As shown in <FIG>, the exterior coatings of seed <NUM> may be formed of one or more layers and one or more of the additional components described above may be present in at least one of those layers. For example, the barrier layer <NUM>, or first layer, may comprise a component having the effect of protecting or enhancing the growth of crops by means other than fertilising may form the barrier, or first, layer <NUM>. The barrier layer <NUM> may comprise a hycorrhizal fungus or spore. The barrier layer <NUM> may be sprayed, dusted, or otherwise coated on to the seeds before the slurry is applied. The shell <NUM> may comprise a component having the effect of enhancing the fertilising effect of the polyhalite by retarding the breakdown of the polyhalite. The shell <NUM> may provide a moisture barrier that retards water passage to the exterior coating <NUM>. This moisture barrier may protect the exterior coating <NUM> from water whilst the coated seed product is in storage, but breakdown once the seed has been sown and subject to an increased level of moisture. The shell <NUM> may also be coloured so that the location of the sown seeds can be identified. The shell <NUM> may be formed of broken-down egg shell.

In practice, the mean thickness of the coating could be in the range from <NUM> to <NUM>, the mean thickness of the coating could also be in the range from <NUM> to <NUM>, but the range can be chosen to suit the seed in question and the desired mass of polyhalite per seed.

The coating could, for example, contain above <NUM>%, above <NUM>% above <NUM>%, above <NUM>% or above <NUM>% polyhalite by weight.

The mass of polyhalite with which each seed is coated can be controlled through the choice of binder, the relative proportions of binder and polyhalite in the slurry, the viscosity of the slurry, the dwell time of the seeds in the drum <NUM> and the spraying rate of slurry into the drum <NUM>.

The response of seeds to a polyhalite coating has been found to vary depending on factors including the species of the seed and the medium in which the seed was grown. In trials conducted on a range of crop seeds including rice, wheat, peas, lettuce, oil seed rape and beet no phytotoxic effects of the coating were observed at doses of polyhalite up to at least <NUM> per kg of seed. However, the same trials suggested that good benefits could be had from polyhalite at significantly lower dose rates, with a correspondingly lower cost of polyhalite. In general, the preferred dosage rate of polyhalite is in the range from <NUM> to <NUM> grams per kg of seed, more preferably from <NUM> to 10grams per kg of seed.

The seed may be a seed of an angiosperm and/or of a crop species. The seed may be a seed of a cereal species such as wheat, maize, rice, millet, barley, oats or rye. The seed may be a seed of a root vegetable species such as beet. The seed may be a seed of a pulse such as peas. Other examples include lettuce and oil seed rape. The seed may be a seed of a non-crop species.

In trials it has been found that the polyhalite coating can have a particularly strong effect in promoting initial growth of the seed, especially initial aerial growth. This can be especially valuable in enabling the seedling to survive damage from parasites, pests, pathogenic disease and adverse environmental conditions. For example, a seed that puts on strong early aerial growth may be more resistant to attack by ground-based pests such as slugs. A plant that has improved root development may be more robust to rain storm events in early growth.

Trials were conducted to assess the effectiveness of the polyhalite coating on the germination and early growth of seeds.

Rice seeds were coated with polyhalite at ranges from <NUM> to <NUM> grams of polyhalite per kg of seed. The seeds were grown under semi-controlled conditions alongside uncoated rice seeds using sand and compost as the growing media. The heights of the plants were measured <NUM> days after application of the seeds (<NUM> DAA). The average height of the untreated seeds was around <NUM> in compost and <NUM> in sand. A significant increase in plant height was recorded for the seeds coated with around <NUM> to <NUM> grams of polyhalite per kg of seed. For example, the average plant height for seeds coated with <NUM> of polyhalite per kg of seed grown in compost was around <NUM> and the average plant height for seeds coated with <NUM> of polyhalite per kg of seed grown in sand was around <NUM>.

Wheat seeds were coated with polyhalite at ranges from <NUM> to <NUM> grams of polyhalite per kg of seed. The seeds were grown under semi-controlled conditions alongside uncoated wheat seeds using sand and compost as the growing media. The heights of the plants were measured <NUM> days after application of the seeds. The average height of the untreated seeds was around <NUM> in sand. A significant increase in plant height was recorded for the seeds coated with around <NUM> to <NUM> grams of polyhalite per kg of seed. For example, the average plant height for seeds coated with <NUM> of polyhalite per kg of seed grown in sand was around <NUM> and the average plant height for seeds coated with <NUM> of polyhalite per kg of seed grown in sand was around <NUM>.

In this example a similar response was not observed for the seeds grown in compost. This may be due to the compost providing a greater level of nutrients than the sand.

Pea seeds were coated with polyhalite at ranges from <NUM> to <NUM> grams of polyhalite per kg of seed. The seeds were grown under semi-controlled conditions alongside uncoated pea seeds using sand and compost as the growing media. The heights of the plants were measured <NUM> days after application of the seeds. The average height of the untreated seeds was around <NUM> in sand. A significant increase in plant height was recorded for the seeds coated with around <NUM> to <NUM> grams of polyhalite per kg of seed. For example, the average plant height for seeds coated with <NUM> of polyhalite per kg of seed grown in sand was around <NUM> and the average plant height for seeds coated with <NUM> of polyhalite per kg of seed grown in sand was around <NUM>.

Similar trials were conducted using seeds of lettuce, beet and oil seed rape. These also showed benefits from the use of polyhalite coatings, particularly at levels below <NUM> of polyhalite per kg of seed.

One potential mechanism for the observed improvement in initial growth is that the polyhalite may bring about an improvement in the microfungal environment adjacent to the seeds.

The process as described above may be used for coating seeds with minerals other than polyhalite, and in particular for coating seeds with one or more evaporite minerals, especially sulphite or chloride minerals. These may include any one or more of anyhdrite, carnalite, gypsum, halite, kainite, kieserite, langbeinite, and/or sylvite. The loadings and dosages of such minerals may be as discussed above for polyhalite. The mineral incorporated in the coating may contain one or more of potassium, calcium or magnesium. The mineral incorporated in the coating may be a hydrated sulphate, particularly a hydrated sulphate of one or more alkali metals or alkali earth metals.

Claim 1:
A coated seed product, the product comprising:
at least one plant seed (<NUM>); and
a coating (<NUM>) adhered to the exterior of the plant seed, the coating comprising a binder (<NUM>) and one or more evaporite minerals (<NUM>), wherein the one or more evaporate minerals comprise polyhalite, wherein the coating comprises more than <NUM>% polyhalite by weight.