Prevention Always Better than Cure- Seed Treatment for Crop Protection

The prospects for global seed treatment sector is seen very robust as the demand for seed treatment chemical agents is estimated to be US$4 billion in 2015 and projected to reach US$6 billion by 2020, maintaining a CAGR of 8.8% between 2015 and 2020 in the process.

By application, chemical seed treatment market forms the leading segment with an estimated share of 93.9% in 2015. Chemical treatment for seeds further consists of insecticides based and fungicide based products. Insecticides based products dominate the market; these are the substances utilized for destroying insects and can comprise ovicides and larvicides. Demand for seed treatment insecticides is expected to maintain a CAGR of 8.5% over 2015-2020.

Diseases are the major source of plant damage that can be caused by a number of plant pathogenic (disease-causing) organisms. Fungi infestation is a major cause of plant diseases that can be prevented by means of fungicide based seed treatment and so the segment is expected to witness a faster growth at 9.5% over the five years course. Categories of fungicides include contact, trans laminar or systemic, of which contact fungicides, not being taken up by the plant tissue, enable in protecting only the plant where the spray is deposited. Other kinds of chemical seed treatment also are slated to show an impressive growth trend at 7.7%.

Non-chemical treatment of seeds includes both biological and physical methods seeds to improve seed sowing, germination and seedling growth by altering seed vigor and/or the physiological state of the seed in soil. Procedures such as priming, steeping, hardening, and pre-germination are being applied for physical way of treatment. Faster emergence, improved uniformity, early canopy development are some of the benefits we derive from seed priming method. In case of seed pelleting, inert materials are added to the seed to give it a more uniform structure to improve plantability.

Biological agents are also employed here to trigger systemic resistance or improve stress tolerance. Trichoderma sp. (antagonist fungus) and Bacillus subtilis (a bacterium) are the most popular agents effective on many crops. These biological fungus or bacteria mainly help in protecting the seed from soil borne pathogens after germination. Because of the rising global concern over the chemical seed treatment method, this approach is gaining importance as it is expected to grow at an annual rate of 10 % over 2015-2020. Because of its natural way of action and popularity, Most of the major players are now focused on biological seed treatment; they are, Bayer, Verdesian, Novozymes, etc.

Coming to market, North America region is the largest market for both chemical and non-chemical products with an average share of around 50% globally. Though the region is the largest market, the future growth would be comparatively slow due to market maturity. Importance of seed treatment is increasing in Asian region given to increased occurrence of pests and diseases; so the market here is going to witness higher growth compared to rest of the world.

In conclusion, it is true that seed treatment can act as a possible way ahead in minimizing production loss owing to pests and diseases and thereby helping in our aim of global food security. That being true, biological seed treatment is the optimal way of looking at the same

For full report, visit: http://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/global-seed-treatment-market-2015-2020-industry.

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