Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
  • A01N—PRESERVATION OF BODIES OF HUMANS OR ANIMALS OR PLANTS OR PARTS THEREOF; BIOCIDES, e.g. AS DISINFECTANTS, AS PESTICIDES OR AS HERBICIDES; PEST REPELLANTS OR ATTRACTANTS; PLANT GROWTH REGULATORS
  • A01N43/00—Biocides, pest repellants or attractants, or plant growth regulators containing heterocyclic compounds
  • A01N43/02—Biocides, pest repellants or attractants, or plant growth regulators containing heterocyclic compounds having rings with one or more oxygen or sulfur atoms as the only ring hetero atoms
  • A01N43/04—Biocides, pest repellants or attractants, or plant growth regulators containing heterocyclic compounds having rings with one or more oxygen or sulfur atoms as the only ring hetero atoms with one hetero atom
  • A01N43/14—Biocides, pest repellants or attractants, or plant growth regulators containing heterocyclic compounds having rings with one or more oxygen or sulfur atoms as the only ring hetero atoms with one hetero atom six-membered rings
  • A01N43/16—Biocides, pest repellants or attractants, or plant growth regulators containing heterocyclic compounds having rings with one or more oxygen or sulfur atoms as the only ring hetero atoms with one hetero atom six-membered rings with oxygen as the ring hetero atom

Definitions

• This invention pertains to methods for treating the seed of cereal crops, which are defined as members of the grass family (Graminae) that produce edible, starchy grains and are characterized by long, narrow blades.
• Gramminae members of the grass family
• This invention comprises a novel chitosan seed treatment that strengthens the stems of cereal crop plants, such as wheat, oats, barley, rye, and rice, helping to preserve their water-carrying capacity, greatly reducing lodging (plants falling over before harvest), and increasing yield.
• the lodging problem is most severe for winter crops when seed is planted early so that the plants can cover the ground prior to the soil eroding winter rains.
• farmers will be able to plant crops early and reduce the erosion loss that exceeds 9071.8 kilograms per 0.4047 hectare in some parts of the United State of America.
• the problem of lodging of high yielding cereal plants can be rectified by seed treatment with the naturally occurring carbohydrate, chitosan.
• Commercially produced chitosan when applied in an aqueous form to cereal seeds is able, under field conditions, to greatly increase the development of the plant's root system, to substantially increase the diameter of the stem, and, in association with these specific and other intangible morphological and biochemical developments, to enhance yield.
• the chitosan treatment results in a plant that is beneficial to erosion control, resistant to lodging, and superior in yield over non-treated plants.
• the method of treatment comprises the direct application of chitosan derived from various shell sources, such as crab, lobster, shrimp and other marine life, in a nearly neutral aqueous solution to wheat seeds prior to planting.
• Chitosan is a polymer made up of a hexosamine sugar (glucosamine) whose molecules are linked (1, 4) into chains that can exceed molecular weights of one million. Chitosan compounds in a range of up to and exceeding 1 x 10° molecular weight are derived commercially from chitin. Chitin, an amino cellulose derivite, is the second most abundant polymer occurring in nature, existing, for example, in the cell walls of fungi, bovine cartilage, and the hard shells of insects and crustaceans. Wastes from the shrimp, lobster, and crab seafood industries contain 10-30% chitin. Chitosan is produced by deacetylating chitin. This invention is effective if the deacetylation exceeds about 90% and it is most effective when approaching 100% deacetylation.
• Dry chitosan as either flakes, granules, or powder is suitable as a starting material.
• a dilute aqueous acid e.g., 1% acetic acid or dilute hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, or formic acid
• a quantity of chitosan suitable for planting a 64.75 hectare field (quarter section) of wheat would be mixed as follows: 1.089 kilograms of crab shell -5- chitosan is dissolved in 30.28 liters of 1% acetic acid. 48 hours is allowed at room temperature for the chitosan to dissolve with stirring. H 2 0 is then added to bring the volume to 98.42 liters or until the viscosity is reduced enough to feed through the dispenser of commercial seed treating machinery. (Most seed treatment machines utilized to handle water based seed treatments can be utilized with the aqueous solution of chitosan.)
• the solution is neutralized to pH 6.0 to 6.5 with 0.757 to 0.871 liters of 6.0 N NaOH.
• NaOH is added slowly with stirring, because localized changes to a pH higher than 7.0 will cause the chitosan to precipitate.
• the viscosity of the opaque aqueous preparation of chitosan is reduced to the designed viscosity with H 2 0 to approximately 98.42 liters. From this, approximately 0.473 liters is added to each bushel (27.22 kg.) of wheat seed. This volume of aqueous chitosan increases the moisture percentage of 27.22 kilograms of wheat seed by 1.6%.
• Chitosan seed treatments were found to be effective using rates ranging from 60 ⁇ g chitosan per gram of wheat seed to 1000 ⁇ g chitosan per gram of wheat seed. Optimal results were obtained at 250 ⁇ g chitosan per gram of wheat seed. This rate is 0.00635 kilogram chitosan per 27.22 kilograms (1 bushel) of wheat seed. 27.22 kilograms per 0.4047 hectare is the average seeding rate for wheat in most areas.
• results are obtained at about 60 ⁇ g per gram of barley seed.
• results are obtained in the range 475 ⁇ g to 525 ⁇ g per gram of oats seed.
• the native chitosan required to treat seed prior to planting is inexpensive.
• chitosan treated wheat seed can be planted in late summer or as early as August as moisture is available.
• the chitosan treatment enhances stem diameter by approximately 10%.
• chitosan-treated plants grown in soils heavily infested with root rotting disease are susceptible to development of some rotting symptoms such as stem discoloration and white heads, the larger stem diameter and the extensive root system caused by the treatment maintain greater stem strength and an adequate water transporting capacity of stem vascular systems.
• 10-30% higher yields are obtained at a low cost, soil erosion is minimized, and the chitosan is readily degraded to simple amino sugar residues and/or metabolized by soil organisms.
• Plants and micro-organisms contain chitosanase and other degradative enzymes with the potential to digest chitosan into smaller fragments and eventually into hexosamines that can be utilized as nutrients by soil microflora.
• a post- treatment drying step must be added to reduce the moisture content of the treated grain to the 10-14% range in order to prevent premature germination of the seed; therefore, the more viscous the chitosan preparation, the less drying that will be required.
• Highly viscous chitosan preparations can be mixed with seed using any machinery marketed for cement mixing. Modifications of grain augering devices will also enable chitosan to be added to seed as it is being loaded aboard trucks just prior to transport to the field for planting. This eliminates the need for extensive drying to prevent seed germination.
• Chitosan seed applications are not detrimentally influenced by fertilizer supplements, herbicide applications or irrigation programs.
• Other commercial seed treatments e.g., insecticides and fungicides, should be applied prior to chitosan. Components already on the seed will be attached to the seed by the chitosan. -1- which leaves a "cellophane-like" surface on seed after drying.
• the chitosan-treated seed can be planted directly in any commercial planter. Special planters that automatically administer fertilizers, soil sterilants, herbicides, etc. can be utilized to treat seeds with chitosan as they are being planted. Chitosan labelled with tritium, [ 3 H]-Chitosan, added to seeds was translocated to the developing plant indicating that a large portion of the chemical is distributed systemically.
• Dry chitosan can be stored indefinitely at room temperature without loss of biological activity. Chitosan can be mixed as described above at room temperature. Chitosan has no known toxicity and can be supplemental to the diet of animals without detrimental side effects. The physical irritation properties of chitosan have not been investigated in long term studies, however, and, therefore, the same basic precautions taken in the handling of other fibrous materials or powders, e.g., cotton fibers or flour, may apply to chitosan.
• EXAMPLE 3 Increased Stem Diameter Effect of chitosan seed treatment on stem diameter of Daws wheat at maturity - 1983
• Yield was an average of four replications. Plot size was 1.22 m x 9.14 m. Lodging in control plots was up to 60%. Yield included lodged wheat recovered by hand at harvest.
• chitosan solution Application rate of chitosan solution is 0.473 liter per 45.36 kilograms of seed.
• Chitosan solution is 2% chitosan and 98% inert ingredients. -14-

Landscapes

• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Dentistry (AREA)
• Pest Control & Pesticides (AREA)
• Plant Pathology (AREA)
• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Agronomy & Crop Science (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Wood Science & Technology (AREA)
• Zoology (AREA)
• Environmental Sciences (AREA)
• Pretreatment Of Seeds And Plants (AREA)
• Agricultural Chemicals And Associated Chemicals (AREA)
• Cultivation Of Plants (AREA)

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• 1987
  • 1987-08-14 EP EP19870907165 patent/EP0328540A4/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 1987-08-14 AU AU81575/87A patent/AU609073B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1987-08-14 WO PCT/US1987/001971 patent/WO1989001288A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1987-08-14 JP JP62506575A patent/JP2525733B2/ja not_active Expired - Lifetime

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