Seed Coating and Tillage Effects on Sesame Stand Establishment and Planter Performance for Single Seed Sowing

摘要

Shapeless, tiny, and rough seeds impede improved planter performance, which may result in improper plant stand establishment. As a solution to this problem, seed coating techniques have been applied. In this study, four coated and one uncoated (naked) sesame seed treatments were tested to determine their effect on accuracy of plant stand establishment and planter performance in single seed sowing under different tillage conditions. Seedbed treatments were composed of traditional tillage without crop residue and conservation tillage with wheat stubble. To analyze plant establishment accuracy and planter performance, spacing between plants within a row and plant emergence per day were measured. The measurements were used to calculate the feed index, multiples index, skip index, precision, emergence rate index, mean emergence date, and the percentage of emergence. The results showed that seed treatments had a significant effect on plant stand establishment, emergence uniformity, and planter performance in single seed sowing of sesame. The coating delayed seed germination, therefore the naked sesame seeds had the most rapid emergence and the maximum percentage of emergence. Nevertheless, quality of feed index, multiples index, and precision of the coated seeds were better than that of uncoated seeds. The coated sesame seeds with a diameter less than 3.5 mm were better in terms of quality of feed index, multiples index, and precision depending on coating material. The precision was 16.25% to 19.19%, indicating that the planter performance was better than a previously published upper limit value of 29%. The parameters were not affected statistically by tillage treatments. However, the