Dust-off is the free floating dust particles and abrasion particles that can be found with treated seed lots, often seen as a residual powder at the bottom of a seed pail or sack. These particles may contain bits of the seed coat, some film coat formulation and of most concern, plant protection products.

Dust-off is an issue for growers due to:

• Cost: any dust-off remaining in or on the seed packaging or which floats away in the air can be attributed a cost
• Crop Protection: it is critical the plant protection products are present on the seed at the required rate otherwise protection of the crop may be at risk and yields may suffer as a result
• Pest Resistance: if the plant protection products aren’t present on the seed at the appropriate rates for targeting the pest, resistance may develop over time in extreme circumstances
• Environmental Concerns: The impact of dust-off on the environment (including the operator) and in particular bee health is of great concern. It is therefore important that where options exist to minimise this effect we act responsibly

Using the Heubach protocol we can test for dust-off of treated seed lots. The analysis of dust-off will determine how effective the coating system used has been at adhering the plant protection products to the seed.

Enquiries can be made for loading analysis of seed lots. A sample of 200 seeds per seed lot per chemical tested for is required.