Back SEEDING THE FUTURE - Building Better Crop Programs from the Ground Up

Date: 30 June 2025

As the appearance of new chemical crop protection products slows down and resistance and regulations steadily chip away at the ones we already have, it’s clear that we need to start thinking differently about how we protect crops.

The first opportunity we have to build crop resilience isn’t at the first spray pass. It’s at the seed.

Over the past few years, we’ve invested heavily into bioactive seed coatings, not just to reduce chemical inputs, but to strategically extend the value of the chemistry we still have.

By pairing biology with compatible actives, and layering-in key nutrient availability, we’re starting to build early crop growth defence systems that hold through emergence and beyond.

It’s not about replacing tools, it’s about building better systems.

THE SEED AS A STRATEGIC POINT IN THE CROP PROGRAM

Bioactive seed inputs applied as a seed coat give us one of the most powerful entry points into the crop protection program. They act early, colonise fast, and help prime both plant and soil biology in a way that foliar sprays simply can’t replicate. We’re not just protecting the seed, we’re setting up the entire root zone.

Our goal has been to design coatings that bridge the gap between planting and the first spray, particularly in crops like onions, brassicas, spinach and sweetcorn where generic damping off diseases and crop specific diseases, like Onion Smut, can often take hold before foliar control is possible, if there is a control at all. Getting biologicals into place at the seed stage means the plant has protection and support right from the moment it begins to grow, not weeks later.

We’ve seen this in action with our onion seed-treatment work, where a commercial mix (Innovate ON-300) of chemistry and selected bioactive seed inputs has held up consistently over multiple seasons for Onion Smut and plant health. It’s now in widespread use and still expanding in area each year. That foundation has allowed us to explore new combinations in other crops and move with the bioactive components of Innovate-BIO into spinach, carrots and brassica, showing strong promise for both disease suppression and improved seedling vigour.

BIOLOGICALS IN RESISTANCE MANAGEMENT

With chemical registrations slowing globally, and New Zealand often last in line for access to new actives, the pressure is on to preserve what we’ve got. Seed coatings offer a way to do that by reducing the early pressure on single-site chemistries and supporting a more diverse system from the start.

Biologicals don’t just suppress disease directly, they shift the plant’s health state and can trigger defence pathways and persist in the root zone where they can continue supporting suppression and plant health. That gives us a form of layered suppression. This is the foundation of resistance management thinking. If we’re going to protect the efficacy of our few remaining high-performance seed treatment actives, we need biological partners that can carry some of the load.

COMPATIBILITY IS KEY - AND COMPLEX

Getting this to work hasn’t been simple. Biological seed coatings require more than just applying bioactive inputs to the seed. Every component from the microbial species to the chemistry used alongside them must be tested for compatibility.

Some chemicals will knock out certain microbes. Some microbes will interfere with others. Getting a biological system onto the seed that still flows well, stores reliably, and behaves predictably in the field has taken a significant investment in time and trial work.

We’ve learned that synergy is possible but not guaranteed. It depends on understanding the modes of action of both the chemistry and the biology.

TARGETING THE RHIZOSPHERE FROM DAY ONE

The reason we persist with the complexity is simple: the results are worth it. Biological seed coatings don’t just protect the seed, they can help activate the soil. We’re seeing strong evidence that live bioactive seed inputs introduced at the seed can help shape the early rhizosphere, giving the plant a head start in establishing beneficial microbial associations and defending against root pathogens.

This early activation of the root zone creates a more competitive microbial environment that helps crowd out disease-causing organisms and increases nutrient unlocking. It’s the start of a better soil system, not just a better crop.

WHERE WE’RE HEADED

We’re now moving into a wide range of biological products, screened in recent seasons, refining them into focused trials to build on the current seed coatings we already have. We are also looking at trialling custom bioactive seed input mixes for pumpkin, lettuce, and squash. Each crop has different sensitivities and soil needs, so we’re refining our approach based on both plant physiology and field behaviour.

CONCLUSION: A SMARTER STARTING POINT

Seed coatings are no longer just about disease suppression. They’re a strategic tool for managing resistance, enhancing root-zone biology, and improving early crop vigour. We’re laying down a biological foundation that supports everything that comes after.

New Zealand’s access to a wide diversity of biological tools and our willingness to trial them in commercial crops gives us a head start on the global stage. With the right investment in understanding, formulation, and compatibility, biological seed coatings have the potential to shift how we grow. Not just as a niche solution, but as the new standard.

Article by Olivia Prouse
If you’ve got a crop that might benefit from biological seed coating, feel free to get in touch with myself or Steve McCraith as we are always open to looking at new options and trial opportunities.