The ethirimol content of commercially-treated cereal seeds

Abstract

Cereal seed treatments will only work well if the chemical is applied accurately and uniformly. Assessing how much chemical adheres to each seed (its loading) was investigated in this project funded jointly by the HGCA and the British Crop Protection Council.

This project was led by Mr David Suett of Horticulture Research International, Wellesbourne. The work concentrated on the ethirimol-based seed treatment, Ferrax, and involved taking samples from commercially-treated seed lots and from seed drills.

It is important to achieve accurate loading of seed treatment both to ensure fungicide efficacy and to meet legal requirements.

The work showed a high level of consistency amongst samples. At intended label doses at least 80 per cent of samples fell within 10 per cent of the dose, although the loading of individual seeds ranged from 54 to 297 per cent of target.

The project showed strong correlation between samples taken from treatment plants and subsequently bagged on pallets. This indicates that only one sampling point is necessary.