Although we’re still in the midst of harvest, it’s the prime time to make decisions for the 2026 season.
Whether it’s seed trait packages, rotational decisions, or anything else, it’s all coming at warp speed. But what about planter box decisions?
Using the planter box to deliver key micronutrients and biological components directly to the seed is a relatively new area of the biological market. Rather than simply using talc and graphite to help with seed flow and lubrication in a planter, we are seeing more and more opportunities to use this mechanism to deliver products right to the seed. This is a fantastic prospect, especially if you don’t have in-furrow capabilities.
BUT HERE’S THE CAVEAT: Care must be taken to ensure proper coverage on seed so that whatever you are trying to deliver is consistent across every seed you plant. We’re well past the days of just dumping a few scoops of talc and graphite into a planter box.
COVERAGE IS KEY. Here are some seed coverage solutions and my rating for their effectiveness.
- BEST: CT APPLICATOR. This mounts on to your seed tender and dispenses the exact right amount of product to each unit of seed as its being moved in an auger or belt to your planter. If a product is 3 oz per unit of seed, a CT Applicator will evenly apply that to each unit.
- GOOD: “PRIMING” THE SYSTEM AND SCOOPING PRODUCT AS IT’S ENTERING THE PLANTER BOX. Priming the system means before any seed makes it to the planter box, apply a few scoops of product to the bottom of the planter box, which will ensure all seed is coated evenly. Then, as seed is being dumped into the planter box, add scoops of product with the seed as the box is filling up.
- AVOID! Some companies claim you can just open a 50-unit hard box and dump the entire contents of their container onto the top of the seed box and things will eventually get mixed in with the seed. When we’ve tried following this example, we’ve found roughly 10 units of seed at the bottom of the box will get no coverage at all!
When you have good, consistent seed coverage, you have a greater chance of seeing positive results in the field, as critical micronutrients and biologicals are ideally placed to help the plant grow right as the seed begins its germination process.
The Hefty Naturals portfolio has been in the planter box market since the fall of 2020 with the launch of Nutri-Shield.
NUTRI-SHIELD combines two foundational products of the Hefty Naturals portfolio: Nutri-Cycle and Heat Shield, two biological products which are also found on every bag of corn and soybeans treated with Hefty Complete. By coating seed directly with living organisms, you get key bacteria and fungi to help seeds germinate and make nutrients available in the early season.
As crops grow, they naturally release root exudates to feed biology and naturally lower the pH environment around the root system. By having living biology already present with the seed, biology is available to deliver when the plant signals what it needs from its environment. Nutri-Shield is 100% organic talc, meaning it’s asbestos-free, and each container of Nutri-Shield covers 50 units of corn.
If you’re looking for early season vigor in cool soils or just want to take advantage of the crop performance that sets Hefty Complete apart, Nutri-Shield is the answer.
NUTRICHARGE POWERPLANT is another product we are super excited about for the planter box. One of the most important nutrients a plant needs early in the season is phosphorus, and with PowerPlant, we are able to deliver the mechanism that protects and releases phosphorus in your soil profile.
What’s different about PowerPlant compared to others in the market is it doesn’t use talc as a carrier – it uses microalgae. Microalgae are a fantastic food source to feed native biology around the seed during germination.
NutriCharge’s technology has the ability to capture more than 65 times its weight in calcium in the soil profile, which prevents tie-up of phosphorus in the soil, making it more readily available to plants. Think about a swimming pool full of water – the larger the pool, the longer it takes to refill. PowerPlant speeds up how phosphorus is released and how quickly it fills up the available pool for the root system to take in. When it comes to keeping that pool filled, calcium is the enemy; NutriCharge is the key to keeping excess calcium from tying up phosphorus.
PowerPlant also delivers key nutrients, as well, such as zinc, manganese, and sulfur. This is especially important if you plant into cold, wet soils where mineralization will be adversely affected. This technology is non-living, so it doesn’t come with any survivability or shelf-life concerns. Overall, it has also been a great product for seed flowability, lower dust-off, and is a great carrier to deliver NutriCharge directly to the seed. If you are looking to make phosphorus more efficient in your soils and don’t have in-furrow capabilities, this is worth considering.
There are hundreds of offers now in the marketplace for planterbox products. Some claim they can act as a full replacement for fungicide and insecticide seed treatments.
In the end, though, it all comes down to how well these products are coated on the seed. Achieving this will allow you to set yourself up for the maximum return on investment with any of these products. As always, I would encourage you to run trials on your own farm to prove it out. Start by splitting a planter and see what results you can generate on your own farm before going 100% into one of these products. They can be great for replacing traditional talc and graphite, but never forget – proper coverage is key.