Pivot Bio Tests On-Seed Safety & Stand Establishment with PROVEN 40 OS

Pivot Bio PROVEN 40 On-Seed (OS) nitrogen-fixing microbes are applied directly to the seed, making the safer and more productive nitrogen accessible to every corn farmer.

To ensure that our products are safe to apply to the seed, we follow the “PASSER” testing process which includes the germination testing of treated seed by an independent laboratory, SGS Labs North America in Brookings, SD, to be followed by on-farm corn stand establishment.

TESTING PROTOCOLS
Our testing used industry-leading protocols, including multiple seed hybrids, seed treatments, and environments, to measure impact on the following factors:

• Plantability - seed flow and planting precision
• Application - coverage consistency, adhesion, and dust-off 
• Stewardship - minimize impact to people and the environment 
• Seed Safety - ensure no adverse effects to germination
• Efficacy - product performance
• Regulatory - compliance with regulatory requirements

SETTING UP THE TESTS

PROVEN 40 OS Application Research
Pivot Bio’s Product Development team conducted a thorough research trial to evaluate the performance of PROVEN® 40 OS when applied directly to commercial corn hybrid seed, using commercial seed-treatment application equipment.

PROVEN 40 OS On-Farm Research
The trial design used a split-planter treatment arrangement and commercially available hybrid corn seed with PROVEN® 40 OS applied (treated), and seed without a PROVEN 40 OS application (non-treated). Corn stand establishment was evaluated, in the field, at the V2 to V4 growth stage, comparing non-treated commercial seed to PROVEN 40 OS treated commercial seed. 

TESTING RESULTS
Through the internal and independent evaluations, we found that there were no differences across the key factors:  

• Plantability – no adverse effect on plantability, dust-off, or seed flow were found
• Application – PROVEN® 40 OS formulation mixes well and is applied to commercial corn seed by experienced and trained applicators using professional-grade equipment and a standard process
• Stewardship – our product is safe to handle with no adverse effects to the environment
• Seed Safety – when applied to commercial corn seed, PROVEN® 40 OS has no adverse effects on seed germination or corn stand establishment
• Efficacy – microbial viability of PROVEN® 40 OS was maintained in the optimal range for product performance throughout the season 
• Regulatory – PROVEN® 40 OS is approved for use in all major US corn-growing states

Farmers using Pivot Bio On-Seed products can have confidence that our proprietary application process safely and accurately delivers nitrogen-fixing microbes directly to the seed for a reliable source of nitrogen for the crop throughout the growing season.

When comparing non-treated commercial seed to commercial seed treated with PROVEN® 40 OS using a KSi 02PRO SC applicator or a USC AT500H applicator, there were no differences in percent warm or cold germination (Figures 1 and 2), seed flowability (Figure 3) or seed plantability (Figure 4). Additionally, there were no differences between commercial seed applicators.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4