Seed treatments and soil health
January 17, 2022
How do seed treatments relate to soil health?
Your soil’s health can be measured by the diversity and the health of the soil biota – or organisms – that live in your soil. These can include nematodes, earthworms, bacteria, and fungi. All these organisms work together on things like decomposing plant material, nitrogen fixation, and putting nutrients back into the soil so they can be used by plants.
Some of the major players in your soil are mycorrhizae. They are ancient groups of fungi that colonize plant roots, grow out into the soil and draw in nutrients like phosphorus that the plant’s root system wouldn’t otherwise be able to access. There has also been research linking mycorrhizal fungi to other benefits like improved plant drought stress tolerance and resilience to fungal disease.
Where do seed treatments come into the soil health discussion?
You’ve probably heard from your local sales rep how seed treatments provide targeted protection against soil- and seed-borne diseases, and that they’re environmentally sustainable. So, what does that really mean?
“Targeted protection” means we’re putting the seed treatment active ingredient exactly where we need it: On the seed. The only thing the seed treatment is directly impacting are the organisms trying to hurt your seedlings.
Seed treatments can also help protect seedlings from the increased disease and pests associated with reduced or no-till farming.
The benefits to soil and water conservation, as well as the organic matter retention that no-till provides are incredibly important. The catch, however, is that in keeping your crop residue, you invite higher populations of organisms into the field that live on this trash. You have also created a cooler, moister environment that’s ideal for soil-borne diseases.
But seed treatments let you have your soil health cake and eat it too. By that, we mean seed treatments let you enjoy the benefits of strong soil microbial communities that a no-till system provides – all while still having excellent protection against soil-borne diseases.
Can seed treatments have a negative effect on your soil’s ecosystem?
Every active ingredient in the entire Syngenta Seedcare™ product lineup has been tested over the years to see how they affect important soil microbial processes, like soil microbial respiration (carbon dioxide released into the soil from decaying plant matter) and nitrogen fixation. All this testing has shown that no Syngenta seed treatment compounds have any negative effect on soil microbial processes, and therefore, no major impact on soil microbial populations.
Pesticide effects on soil microbial communities, including mycorrhizal fungi have also been researched and studied for over 50 years under a wide range of conditions and crops.1,2,3 Researchers have consistently found that pesticides don’t affect the ability of mycorrhizal fungi populations (as a whole) to colonize roots and assist nutrient uptake by the plant.
Remember – a well-designed seed treatment that you have purchased from a reputable company is not going to get into the soil and kill off beneficial microorganisms. So, to sum up – seed treatments have been proven time and time again not to negatively impact your soil health. What’s more – they offer targeted protection that allows for sustainable farming practices.
1 Lo, C. 2010. Effect of pesticides on soil microbial community. Journal of Environmental Science and Health Part B 45:348-359.
2 Wainwright, M. 1978. A review of the effects of pesticides on microbial activity in soils. Journal of Soil Science 29:287-298.
3 Hage-Ahmed, K., Rosner, K., and Steinkellner, S. 2019. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and their response to pesticides. Pest Management Science 75: 583-590.
