Seed Treatment: A Step Towards Sustainable Agriculture in Raichur and Koppal

A view of untreated (left) and treated (right) cotton plots. Photo credit: Lokappa Nayak

Basappa and Hussain are neighbouring farmers in Mukanhal village of Raichur district, Karnataka, and both grow cotton. During harvest, however, a discrepancy was observed in their yield. While Basappa obtained 10 quintals in one acre, Hussain, who farms in an adjacent land, obtained only 8 quintals for the same area. What explains this additional 2 quintals per acre?

This significant yield advantage was achieved through a relatively small investment at the seed stage: through seed treatment. Seed treatment is the coating of seeds or seedlings with beneficial microorganisms to improve germination, root growth, disease resistance, and yield. Applied before sowing or transplanting, it helps ensure a healthy crop start.

Why Seed Treatment Is Essential

When a seed is sown, it begins its journey by absorbing moisture. Under the right conditions (i.e. water, temperature, and oxygen), this moisture activates enzymes within the seed, which break down the stored food reserves and provide the energy needed for the radicle to anchor the young plant in the soil.

The germination and early seedling stage is one of the most critical phases in a plant’s life. At this point, the seedling is extremely tender and sensitive. With a weak and underdeveloped root system, it survives on limited internal energy reserves. Even minor stresses during this stage can disrupt normal growth, leading to poor plant establishment or even loss.

Young seedlings are vulnerable to both abiotic and biotic stresses. Abiotic stresses, such as moisture, temperature fluctuations, and soil conditions, can damage seedlings. Biotic stresses, such as seed and soil borne fungal diseases, can cause damping-off (root and stem rot). These infections often attack the seed or seedling before or just after emergence, resulting in wilting, collapse, and reduced plant population, ultimately affecting crop yield.

Thus, seeds sown without protection are likely to encounter threats such as fungal infections, nutrient deficiency, and pest attack, during the most vulnerable stage of growth. Seed treatment can help safeguard the seeds against these issues.

The Cases in Raichur and Koppal

In the dryland villages of Raichur and Koppal, farmers often struggle with various problems, such as low seed germination, weak seedlings, soil and seed borne diseases, and poor early growth. This could primarily be due to the soil in the region, which is characterised by low levels of organic carbon and nitrogen, and moderate levels of phosphorus, potassium, and sulphur. Such imbalanced and nutrient-stressed soils weaken early crop establishment.
Seed treatment, which involves coating the seeds with biofertilisers and biopesticides, acts as a protective shield and as a growth enhancer. It enables farmers to:

• Strengthen germination
• Improve root development
• Boost nutrient availability
• Protect seedlings from early diseases
• Reduce crop loss
• Increase yield potential

Seed Treatment Procedure

This section highlights the bio-inputs typically used for seed treatment. It also provides steps on how to treat the seeds so they grow into strong, healthy plants.

The procedure for seed treatment is detailed below: 

• Prepare a jaggery solution (50 g jaggery + 500 ml water), and mix all the bio-cultures mentioned in the table (Trichoderma, PSB, Rhizobium, and Azospirillum), as per the recommendation.
• Coat seeds evenly with the microbial slurry.
• Shade dry for about 30 minutes and sow immediately.
• For vegetable seedlings, dissolve cultures in plain water and dip roots before transplanting.

Impact of Seed Treatment on Cotton Growth and Yield: A Case Study

WELL Labs, in partnership with Prarambha, a grassroots development organisation, promoted seed treatment and conducted field experiments in certain plots to demonstrate the impact of treating seeds with biofertilisers and biopesticides on cotton growth and yield. Under this initiative, 331 farmers across 437 acres in Raichur and Koppal successfully adopted seed treatment.

Farmers being informed of the benefits of seed treatment. Photo credit: Revanasiddappa Goudur, Prarambha

Table 1 shows the difference between treated and untreated cotton plants.

Figure 1: Percentage increase in the plant parameters after seed treatment.

The results clearly demonstrate the benefits of strengthening seeds before sowing. Compared to untreated cotton plants, treated cotton plants reached a higher average height; had higher leaves per plant (reflecting greater photosynthetic capacity); showed improved branching; and had higher numbers of bolls (indicative of enhanced fruiting). Similarly, compared to the population of plants in the untreated plots, that in the treated plots was higher; plants in the treated plots also had heavier bolls, indicating better filling and lint quality. Thus, seed treatment leads to higher yield and improved crop quality.

Difference in weights of untreated (left) and treated (right) cotton bolls.
Picture credit: Dashavanthappa Mudalagunda, Prarambha

Furthermore, it is a profit enhancing intervention, offering a low cost, high return solution that can be easily adopted and scaled. The cost of seed treatment depends primarily on the crop’s seed rate. For instance, for cotton and bajra, the recommended seed rate is 2–3 kg per acre. Consequently, the cost is only ₹50 per acre. By contrast, groundnut and chickpea have a recommended seed rate of more than 20 kg per acre. Thus, the cost rises to around ₹350 per acre.
Still, the expense comprises only a small fraction of the total cultivation cost. Indeed, the cost is far lower than the losses that can potentially be incurred due to poor germination or early stage pest and disease attacks. Therefore, investing in seed treatment during sowing yields results throughout the crop cycle, making it an essential practice for sustainable cotton cultivation.

Conclusion

Seed treatment with biofertilisers and biopesticides is a simple, low cost, and highly effective method of improving germination, root health, nutrient uptake, and boll weight. It not only boosts yields but also reduces dependency on chemical inputs, while promoting long term soil and crop health.
A small investment at the seed stage can lead to big gains in the field, making seed treatment a practical, scalable, and sustainable solution for farmers in the region.

Appendix

While this research considered the case study of cotton, the farmers who adopted seed treatment witnessed tangible benefits across maize, pulses, and vegetables.

(Above) Treated onion seedlings provided bigger and healthier onion bulbs (left) compared to those harvested from untreated onion seedings (right). | Picture credit: Dashavanthappa Mudalagunda, Prarambha

(Left) Treated maize seeds provided bigger, healthier corn cobs (left) compared to untreated maize seeds, which produced smaller corn cobs (right). | Picture credit: Govindappa Kudagunti, Prarambha

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