Ten Billions Seed Treatment Market Ushers in Historic Innovation and Development Changes

Seed treatment is a cost-effective approach to controlling plant pests and diseases. Through the use of physical treatments, as well as chemical and biological products, seed treatment plays an important role in protecting seeds and seedlings from seed and soil-borne pests and diseases, reducing germination times, ensuring healthy crop growth and achieving high yields.

In general, the seed treatments we referred to is related to the application of pesticides, nutrients and biological products on seeds, which aim to provide protection and growth promotion benefits during the establishment of seedlings. In addition to seed protectant and nutrition products, seed treatment also involves sectors such as physical treatments, including ultraviolet rays and plasma treatment technology; seed enhancement technologies, such as seed priming, seed coating, seed pelleting and seed encrusting; adjuvants and additives used in seed coating or pelleting, such as film former, colorants and binders; seed treatment machinery and equipment, such as sorters, coaters and pelleters; and seed testing and regulatory affairs. Seed treatment is a ten-of-billion dollars market with huge potential.

In recent years, technological advances, increased government support and growing demand for high-quality seeds from farmers, who are increasingly considering seed treatment as a method for protecting seeds, are driving the growth of the global seed treatment market. Companies involved in the industry, especially agricultural multinationals and companies with innovative technologies and products, such as those with a strong presence in biologics, are strengthening their cooperation to offer more environmentally-friendly, sustainable and efficient seed treatment solutions to farmers, ushering in a historic boom in the industry.

According to MarketsandMarkets, the seed treatment market is expected to grow from $6.1 billion in 2022 to $9.2 billion by 2027, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.3% during the forecast period. North America is the region with the largest share of the global seed treatment market at 39%, while Asia Pacific is the fastest growing region.

Multinationals dominate the market

Seed treatment is still mainly based on chemical treatments in the form of insecticides, fungicides and fertilizers. The market is led and dominated by agricultural multinationals, such as Syngenta, BASF, Corteva and UPL. With the focus on the seed treatment business, after mergers and acquisitions between companies and their own business adjustments, some multinationals have gradually formed clear seed treatment business sectors.

Syngenta

Syngenta is a leader in seed treatment with a global market share of more than 30%. They provide customers with advanced seed treatment products and technologies that protect their investments and produce high-quality crops. Syngenta's seed treatment business, Seedcare, generated $1.544 billion in revenue in 2022. Syngenta Seedcare offers an industry leading solution based on its world-class research, product development and support capabilities. They call it a three-pillar offer P.A.S. (Products – Application –Services), which delivers value to customers BEYOND SEED PROTECTION™.

Syngenta’s products cover a wide range of application targets, including diseases, insects, nematode control and abiotic stress management. The main brands include AVICTA^®, CRUISER^®, DIVIDEND^®, CELEST^®/MAXIM^® and FORTENZA^®, which are involved in thiamethoxam, azoxystrobin, cyantraniliprole, oxathiapiprolin, sulfoxaflor, pydiflumetofen, sedaxane, abamectin and other products.

BASF

Since acquiring part of the seed treatment business of Bayer AG in 2018, BASF's seed treatment business has greatly increased in scale and product line, further consolidating its market position. In 2022, BASF's seed treatment business generated sales of €806 million, accounting for 8% of BASF Agricultural Solutions’ total revenue.

From fungicide and insecticide chemistry and inoculants to advanced biologicals, nematode management, and coatings and colorants, BASF’s products protect seeds from germination to emergence, promote early-season vigor, limit disease and insect pressure, and benefit tested plant health, including improved cold and drought tolerance. The company’s primary goal and commitment in this field is ″giving every seed every advantage.″

BASF's main seed treatment brands include ILEVO^®, Integral^®Pro, Poncho Votivo^®, Relenya^®, Seperit^®, Systiva^®, Teraxza™ and Vault^®HP, which relate to fluopyram, mefentrifluconazole, broflanilide, clothianidin, fluxapyroxad, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain MBI 600, Bacillus subtilis strain BU1814 and other products.

Corteva

Corteva Agriscience works to discover new actives for seed protection, drawing on the world-class Corteva research pipeline and the resources of strategic collaborators who are on the cutting edge of seed protection innovations. At its Center for Seed Applied Technologies (CSAT), which has locations around the world, Corteva screens a diverse range of technologies and aims to discover new ingredients with the most valuable characteristics and modes of action to meet farmers’ needs.

Corteva's seed treatment product brands include Lumiderm™, Lumivia™, Lumiscend™, Lumialza™ and Lumisena™, which offer products such as chlorantraniliprole, ethaboxam, inpyrfluxam and Bacillus amyloliquefacien.

UPL

UPL has been recognized as one of the global leaders in the seed treatment industry. After completing the acquisition and integration of Arysta LifeScience, the company has developed its own Soil & Seed Health business unit focused on three key crops, which soybeans, corns and cereals, that account for some 80% of the seed treatment market. In terms of product innovation, UPL focuses on combining the use of traditional synthetic molecules with differentiated biological solutions. At the level of growers, the company has been focusing on easing access to seed treatment as a service, and on the digital connection between growers, their seeds and their treatments.

UPL's seed treatment product brands include Electron™, Provax 200FF, Royalflo 40 FS, Start Up™, Rancona™ and Vitavax™, which contains azoxystrobin, thiamethoxam, metalaxyl, carbendazim, mancozeb, ipconazole and carboxin.

Partnership on innovative solutions

In addition to traditional agricultural multinationals, several companies are offering seed treatment solutions with crop nutrition and biologics products that are active in the market, but their scale is relatively small. Major companies include NovozymesA/S, Certis Europe, Rizobacter, Plant Health Care, Koppert Biological Systems, Valent BioSciences, Ad Terram, Groundwork Bioag, Indigo Ag, MBFi, Tradecorp and Symborg.

Biological seed treatment procedures involve the use of microorganisms as biological agents to protect seeds from pathogens, as opposed to the conventional method of using chemicals. Biological seed treatments rely on active ingredients, including living microbes, fermentation products, plant extracts and phytohormones. These products improve the availability of nutrients in the rhizosphere, promote nutrient and water uptake, optimize nutrient utilization, foster shoot and root growth, and protect plants from pathogens. Biological seed treatments are increasingly being adopted for their benefits, such as optimizing plant growth, minimizing stress and boosting overall yield. The biological seed treatment market is expected to record a CAGR of 12.7% from 2022 to 2029 to reach $3.59 billion by 2029, according to a report by Meticulous Market Research.

Aiming to expand their product lines and develop more solutions, MNCs maintain close ties and cooperation with the companies mentioned in this report in terms of innovative solutions and products. Recent major collaborations include the following:

• In May 2023, Syngenta Biologicals and Unium Bioscience announced a collaboration to launch breakthrough biological seed treatment solutions based on NUELLO^® iN for farmers across northwest Europe. NUELLO^® iN naturally improves a plant’s ability to convert, use nitrogen readily available in the atmosphere and has the potential to reduce nitrogen use by more than 10 percent, which lower the environmental impact of farming while increasing crop yields, improving plant and soil health, and offering farmers greater flexibility in their nitrogen management strategies.
  
  

• In 2022, Syngenta Crop Protection’s Seedcare business and Bioceres Crop Solutions announced a global commercial and R&D collaboration, which builds on a successful commercial partnership of more than 20 years in Argentina. Under the agreement, Syngenta Seedcare will become the exclusive global commercialization distributor for Bioceres’ biological seed treatment solutions, except in Argentina where they will continue to collaborate under the existing framework. Under the long-term R&D collaboration, the companies will jointly develop new products while accelerating the registration of products already in the pipeline.
  
  

• In the same year, a new collaboration between Syngenta Crop Protection and Aphea.Bio is set to bring a novel agricultural technology, ACTIV, to European markets. ACTIV, based on beneficial microorganisms, is a biostimulant applied as a seed treatment on wheat, which can improve yields by as much as 5% by improving crop nutrient efficiency.
  
  

• In 2023, UPL announced a partnership with Novozymes and Nitragin to offer the new inoculation technology, Jumpstart Liquid, for treating soybean seeds. This biosolution is formulated with the fungus, Penicillium bilaiae, and potentially offers excellent results since it has a more stable formulation, is easy to apply and achieves outstanding seed survival.

• In 2022, ADAMA and Groundwork BioAg announced a new commercial agreement offering sustainable cost-effective mycorrhizal products to help increase crop yields and provide an alternative to synthetic fertilizers, especially phosphorus, to Indian farmers. The first innovation to emerge from this collaboration is Tormos™, a granular mycorrhizal inoculant tailor-made for India, designed for its unique growing practices and widespread agricultural diversity.
  
  

• In 2022, AMVAC^® and BASF announced a collaboration to develop the granular soybean inoculant, Rhizo-Flo^®, as an addition to the expanding SIMPAS-applied Solutions™ portfolio. Rhizo-Flo is a unique and leading soybean inoculant designed to deliver high concentrations of viable and effective Bradyrhizobium cells and ultimately improve yields.
  
  

• In 2022, Marrone Bio Innovations, before being acquired by Bioceres, has signed an agreement with Corteva Agriscience that will enable MBI technologies to be used on seeds sold by Corteva for row crops globally. MBI provides seed treatment solutions to Corteva for use throughout Europe.
  
  

• In 2021, Eden Research plc announced the signing of an exclusive Commercialization, Supply and Distribution Agreement with Corteva Agriscience for Eden's first seed treatment product. The product is based on Eden's registered active ingredients delivered using its novel, patented Sustaine^® encapsulation technology, which is based on natural, plastic-free and biodegradable micro-spheres.

Inoculants and nematicides are hot research areas

Agricultural inoculants help fix atmospheric nitrogen and mobilize soil nutrients. Agricultural inoculants improve the quality of soil, enhance the growth of crops, and increase yields by improving the uptake of nutrients. They also increase the efficiency of crop protection chemicals and manure. These benefits offered by inoculants are predicted to propel the global inoculants market. Moreover, the agricultural inoculants market is also anticipated to be driven by growing food demand caused by rising populations.

According to MarketsandMakets, the size of the global inoculants market is estimated to be valued at $1.1 billion in 2022, and is anticipated to reach $1.7 billion by 2027, recording a CAGR of 8.1% in value. The global demand for inoculants is increasing significantly, due to the growing awareness of famers about the various benefits offered by inoculants in terms of increasing farm profitability. The ability of inoculants to improve soil quality and crop growth has led to their rising popularity.

Table 1: Agricultural inoculants products recently reported by AgroPages

According to Syngenta, plant-parasitic nematodes are estimated to be responsible for between 10 and 15 percent of yield losses globally, which is estimated at $125 billion annually. Rising nematode infestation in crops, the growing adoption of integrated pest management across the globe, and increased awareness about the benefits of nematicides are some of the factors that are expected to drive the growth of the seed treatment nematicides market.

Data Bridge Market Research analyses indicate that the seed treatment nematicides market, which was valued at a value of $1.23 billion in 2021, is expected to reach the value of $1.86 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 4.0% during the forecast period of 2022 to 2029. The rising demand for high-value crops will drive the growth of the seed treatment nematicides market.

In view of the massive crop losses caused by nematodes and the considerable market opportunities it brought, research on nematicides for seed treatment has increased in recent years, and many new products have been introduced. In addition to chemical nematicides, bionematicide products and the combination of chemical nematicide and bionematicide products are also becoming more popular.

Table 2: Seed treatment nematicide products recently reported by AgroPages

Microplastic-free seed treatment solutions

In recent years, much attention has been paid to the environmental issues caused by plastic pollution and, in particular, by microplastics, which are small pieces of plastics found in the environment and the food chain.

After a period of fact-finding and consultation lasting several years, the European Commission published a draft Regulation (amendment to REACH) in 2022, which placed restrictions on microplastics intentionally added at 0.01% or more by weight. These restrictions are especially relevant for cosmetics, household products and agrochemicals.

Seeds are frequently coated with crop protection materials, fertilizers or other bioactive components that are released in the soil after seeds are sown. As with pesticide granules, polymeric binders, such as carboxymethyl cellulose, can be used to control the release of active substances, and these could also be included within the definition of microplastics.

Recently, adjuvant, formulation and seed enhancement companies that provide products and services for seed treatment have begun to focus on the development of microplastic-free products. These companies include, but are not limited to, Croda/Incotec, Ad Terram, Solvay, Covestro-Amulix, Borregaard and Evonik.

Ad Terram is a Dutch company focused on technological research and innovation, which offers self-developed organic seed treatment products and biostimulant products in the agricultural sector. In 2022, the company announced that to stay ahead of changing regulations, all its products are certified according to the ECHA (European Chemical Agency) standard carried out by Flustix. It is the first and only agro treatment company with officially certified microplastic-free products. Its seed coatings are not based on bio-polymers or synthetic polymers and its filmcoat liquids consist are 100% naturally-sourced, such as plant extracts.

Incotec, part of Croda International plc, is a seed enhancement specialist that provides various innovative technologies that improve the resilience and performance of seeds, ranging from cleaning, upgrading and priming (pre-germination) to pelleting, film coating and encrusting. Aware that the rest of the world is likely to follow the EU's ban on microplastics and the demand for microplastic-free seed treatment has increased significantly, Incotec is expanding its microplastic-free seed coating product line to help customers anticipate the impact of major regulations. Most of Incotec's vegetable seed products are microplastic-free. In addition, the company is developing the next generation of microplastic-free product lines, including products for vegetables and field crops. The first solution for corn seed coating, Disco Red L-1101, is now available in the market.

Evonik, the world's largest producer of fine chemicals, has recently developed BREAK-THRU^® BP 787, an innovative carrier fluid specifically developed for the application of microorganisms in seed treatment and foliar applications. BREAK-THRU^® BP 787 is a highly sustainable solution due to its biodegradability, absence of microplastics and lack of toxicity. Developing FS-formulations for microorganisms, such as Trichoderma harzianum, Clonostachys rosea, Beauveria bassiana, using BREAK-THRU^® BP 787 as a carrier fluid, in combination with dispersing agent BREAK-THRU^® DA 646 and superspreader BREAK-THRU^® S 301, significantly enhances microbial shelf life in the formulation, as well as after application on seeds.

Solvay, which provides a full range of surfactants and specialty chemicals for the plant protection industry, completed the acquisition of Bayer's global seed coatings business in 2021. Solvay Seed Care’s experts began their re-formulation work on proposed microplastic-free seed coatings, with prototypes being ready for testing in 2022 for all major row crops.

Borregaard is the world leading producer of lignin-based biopolymers, as sustainable alternatives to fossil based co-formulants. The company offers bio-based and microplastic-free solutions to a wide range of application areas, including the agricultural sector. Its product, Exilva, is sustainable cellulose, EPA inert, REACH exempt, microplastic-free and recently certified OMRI, compliant for organic farming. It is safe for users, seeds and the environment. Exilva has been commercially and globally available since 2016.

Covestro-Amulix is a joint venture between Dynaplak, a developer of starch-based solutions for industrial applications and Covestro. To enable farmers to continue protecting their crops without generating microplastics, the company developed Amulix^®, a biobased, biodegradable seed coating solution. Amulix^® achieves a 50% carbon footprint reduction when compared to conventional coatings, and it also meets expected performance requirements, which are dust control, uniform color distribution and non-phytotoxicity.

Seed treatment machinery market worth US$1.5 billion

In terms of value, the seed treatment machinery market, both coating and drying, is expected to reach $1.53 billion by 2029, at a CAGR of 7.2% from 2022 to 2029.

In terms of volume, the market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.6% from 2022 to 2029, reaching 331,357 units by 2029.

The growth of the market is attributed to various factors, such as the growing focus on seed and worker safety, the rising need to improve crop yield and quality, and advancements in seed treatment equipment, both coating and drying. However, barriers limiting the adoption of advanced seed treatment equipment significantly restrain the growth of this market.

Some of the key players operating in the market include AKYUREK TECHNOLOGY, Alvan Blanch Development Company, Bayer AG, Bharat Agro-Tech Industries, Centor Group, Cimbria (part of AGCO Corporation), GRAINTECH, NoroGard Westrup, PETKUS Technologie, SATEC Equipment GmbH, Seed Processing Holland B.V., and USC, LLC.

In addition to the above subsectors of seed treatment, there are other industries related to seed treatment, including seed testing, regulatory consulting, etc.

For more information on relevant service providers, please refer to the Seed Treatment Service Providers Guide published by AgroPages.

This article was initially published in AgroPages' '2023 Seed Treatment Special' magazine.

If you would like to share your company's story. Please contact Christina Xie at christina@agropages.com

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