ITPD960297A1 - ENCAPSULATED SEEDS WITH MIXTURES OF POWDERS AND NATURAL POLYMERS - Google Patents

Description

Description of a patent application for industrial invention entitled "Seeds encapsulated with mixtures of powders and natural polymers",

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The present invention describes seeds of boris and / or vegetables coated with mixtures of compounds such as to favor and ensure the germination of the same even in unfavorable water and soil conditions.

The coating carried out with talc, bentonite, vermiculite, clay and natural hydrophilic polymers, completely biodegradable,? able, in fact, to store rain or irrigation water and to transfer it to the seed during germination, protecting it from the lack of water supply that can? cause the loss of the plant.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The first attempts to cover seeds originate around the 1950s with the encapsulation of seeds with inert materials such as clays. Are there many methodologies and formulations used to date for the dressing of seeds of agronomic interest and the encapsulation of seeds? today a reality? quite widespread, especially for certain plant species with irregular seeds such as beets, tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, and very small seeds, such as petunias, tobacco, begonias or others.

The sugar coating has the main function of calibrating the size and shape of the seed, making it suitable for sowing using modern precision seeders.

The coating, therefore, optimizes the planting of the seed, ensuring a pre-ordered distance in the ground, as well as preserving the seed from any impacts against the mechanical parts of the seeder that could damage it.

The type of confection varies according to the size of the seed, the capacity? germination and the type of seeder used; the latter, in fact, can? vary depending on whether it is sowing in the nursery or in the open field.

The coating process is carried out using different micronized powders, such as clays, diatomaceous earth or calcium carbonate.

Subsequent developments in sugar coating technologies concern the incorporation of active ingredients, pesticides or fertilizers, into the inert material; the outer layer? often composed of a film with anti-abrasive characteristics, generally colored to improve seeding control.

For larger seeds, such as corn, cereals, soybeans, peas, beans, cucumbers, cabbage, sunflowers, etc., a film process is applied where the layer enveloping the seed has a very thin thickness.

The film is used to incorporate pesticides, mainly insecticides and fungicides, to facilitate mechanical sowing and to protect the seeds.

Furthermore, methods of encapsulation of pregerminated seeds in wet polymers have been described in order to accelerate the emergence of the plant by reducing the germination times (EP No. 0236444B1).

Finally, several varieties are also confetti? of vegetable seeds intended to be sown manually, but in this case the purpose of encapsulation? to make more? manageable seeds of small size favoring a more? regular planting. Since? the pills are immediately placed at the predetermined distance, the operation of the thinning is eliminated which can? cause trauma to the roots. As a consequence of a regular distance between the plants there is a decrease in their competitiveness. nutritional.

None of the above types of encapsulated seeds, however, has a coating such as to guarantee germination even in unfavorable water and soil conditions.

In fact, considerable quantities? rainwater or irrigation water is normally lost through evaporation or drainage. During the period of drought, then, the level of humidity? of the soil falls far below the limit necessary for a regular germination of the seed, causing severe stress and often the loss of the seed itself.

However, it is not always useful to increase watering:? it is enough to optimize the normal water supply and create the right humidity condition? around the seed.

The hydro-lid polymers used in the coating of the seeds described in the present invention, on the other hand, capture the irrigation water making it available for germination even in conditions of limited water supply: in fact, even reducing the normal watering cycle, the birth of the plants is insured.

The aim of the present invention is, therefore, the preparation of mixtures of compounds for the coating of the seeds such as to favor and ensure the germination of the same even in unfavorable water and soil conditions.

Other advantages of the present invention are also represented by ima pi? easy handling of seeds, the possibility? to sow them in depth? and at a distance more? regular, avoiding cos? the deposition of pi? seeds in the same site and eliminating the competition between the plants, a rising more? uniform and fast, the exaltation of the quality? of the seed and its growth potential, the protection of the seed from soil parasites and birds.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The seeds of the present invention are coated with a mixture of powders such as bentonite, clay, talc, vermiculite, and with natural hydrophilic polymers whose purpose? that of absorbing water from the environment and making it available to the seed and then to the new plant.

In this way it is possible to reduce the number of waterings and a pi? rapid seed development.

In coated polymers? It is also possible to insert fertilizers, active ingredients, hormones or microorganisms that can selectively defend the new plant or improve its growth.

Preparation procedure of the sugared seeds

In the confectioning process different types of aqueous wetting solutions can be used, such as:

- xanthan 1% and calcium chloride 1%

- carboxymethylcellulose 4% and calcium chloride 1%

- carboxymethylcellulose 4%.

The mixture of polymers is prepared, the final weight of which must represent 100 - 150% of the weight of the seeds to be coated.

The mixture is deposited in the mixing machine so that it can homogenize.

Do you weigh the seeds, considering a variability? operating between 3 and 10 g., they are humidified with the wetting solution with the help of a nebulizer and are deposited little by little in the mixing machine, taking care not to make them compact.

Q process continues until you no longer notice? free mixture and the seeds have a spherical and compact cover.

The seeds are passed through a fine sieve to remove powdery residues and are left to dry at room temperature.

If not ? has been reached the desired size, you can? repeat the confection on the seeds just confectioned following the same procedure.

Examples of possible mixes for confectioning

Have the percentage of water absorbed been calculated? ta, after keeping the seed in water for one minute, and the percentage of water retained after 24 hours at 25 ° C.

Germination of the coated seed compared to the naked seed

The germination percentage of non-coated watermelon seeds (control) was compared with those of coated watermelon seeds according to recipes 11 and 13 (Table 1).

Watermelon seeds (twenty) were sown in 5 pots for each group (control, recipe 11, recipe 13) containing soil with moisture. relative equal to 8.2%.

The terrain ? was moistened with 50 ml of water, and subsequent waterings, each of 30 ml of water, were performed every five days.

As is evident from the graph of the germination test ?, watering with a frequency much less than necessary? than a non-coated seed (every five days), the germination percentages of the coated seeds according to the present invention (recipes 11 and 13), are much more? high compared to that of naked semen.

Since the invention is thus described,? it is clear that these compositions can be modified in various ways. These modifications are not to be considered as divergences of the spirit and perspectives of the invention and all those modifications which would appear evident to an expert in the field are included in the scope of the following claims:

Claims (9)

CLAIMS 1) Mixture for the preparation of coated seeds consisting of inert powders and natural hydrophilic polymers, completely biodegradable and, possibly, antiparasitic agents or fertilizers, able to ensure the germination of the seed even in unfavorable water conditions. 2) Mixture according to claim 1, wherein the inert powders are bentonite, clay, talc, vermiculite. 3) Mixture according to claim 1, wherein the completely biodegradable natural hydrophilic polymers are pectin, starch, sodium pectate, xanthan. 4) Mixture according to claims 1 and 2, in which the inert powders are present in the following percentages: bentonite 30-55%, clay 10-30%, preferably 30%, talc 1-15%, vermiculite 20-55%. 5) Mixture according to claims 1 and 3, in which the hydrophilic polymers are present in the following percentages: pectin 5-10%, starch 8-90%, preferably 70%, sodium pectate 5-10%, xanthan 1-7%. 6) Process of coating the seeds with a mixture according to claims 1-5 which provides for the use of a wetting aqueous solution such as 1% xanthan and 1% calcium chloride. 7) Process of confectioning seeds with mixture according to claims 1-5 which provides? use of an aqueous wetting solution such as 4% carboxymethylcellulose and 1% calcium chloride. 8) Process of dressing the seeds with a mixture according to claims 1-5 which provides for the use of a wetting aqueous solution such as carboxymethylcellulose 4%. 9) Seeds coated with a mixture according to claims 1-5 capable of germinating even in unfavorable water conditions.