Research for alternative material and its effect on seed germination in seed tapes products

Millington, S M

Abstract

‘Seed tapes’ are a length of biodegradable tissue paper, acting as a carrier, containing seeds. The seed tape is unrolled into a shallow trench and covered with soil, ensuring that all seeds are planted at even intervals. Manufacturers in the seed tape industry aim to produce products with crop sizes that are as good as, or better than, loose seeds. However, little is known about the principal component that affects the crop size produced by seed tapes, the carrier material, and its influential properties.
The focus of this report is to describe a multi-phased experiment, used to test the suitability of alternative seed tape materials. The experiment analysed the performance of the seed tape products on a number of matrices; germination count, germination rate, penetration count and penetration rate; all are factors that influence the growth performance of the seed tapes. The fundamental performance indicator for consumers is crop size, which is measured by the penetration of seedlings through the seed tape material.

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 7, 2019
• Keywords: Seed Tapes seed-tapes tissue germination plant crop millington
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/863239
• Award Date: Aug 2, 2018