Physical-Chemical Study of Thin Films in Seed Coating

This project, developed in collaboration with Croda do Brasil, aimed to evaluate and understand the drying processes at microscale through NMR Relaxometry and the film uniformity impact on seed coating, as well as to seek solutions for this process by performing experiments of water diffusion through the film and the treated seed, using techniques such as Time-domain NMR (TD-NMR), Scanning Electron Microscopy, Dynamic Light Scattering, Differential Scanning Calorimetry;
The use of seed coating in agriculture aims to improve productivity from planting to the delivery of the nutrients necessary for enhances crop growth. [1] The application of the film is done by using dispersions of polymeric latex, injected in a rotary equipment that distributes the binder on the seeds surfaces. In this process, the formed film normally has a thickness of less than 10% of the seed mass. [2]
Beside the film formation, the water diffusion through three parts of soybean seed in initial germination stage and different water distribution of film in drying stage was accompanied by TD- NMR (Figure 1).

1. KAUFMAN, Glen. Seed coating: a tool for stand establishment; a stimulus to seed quality. HortTechnology, v. 1, n. 1, p. 98-102, 1991.
2. PEDRINI, Simone, et al. "Seed coating: science or marketing spin?." Trends in plant science 22.2 (2017): 106-116.