Low-dose pest control: Seed dressing of Seed with Fungicide and Insecticide

Pest control for optimum yields

The "Seed Dressing with Fungicide and Insecticide" technology consist to the application of chemical control agents to common bean seeds to combat fungal diseases like anthracnose and pests such as stem maggots that cause significant yield losses in Africa. It offers various seed dressing products, such as Syngenta’s APRON STAR®, which combines fungicides and insecticides to effectively control diseases and pests, leading to robust root development, uniform growth, and higher yields, especially in tropical regions with favorable conditions for fungal pathogens. This method utilizes a cost-effective and environmentally friendly approach, offering enhanced protection and increased productivity for common bean crops. This adaptable and accessible technique doesn’t require specialized equipment and is easily implementable at both farms and factories, offering a widely adoptable solution to protect common bean crops against prevalent diseases and pests in various agricultural regions.

This technology is TAAT1 validated.

7•8

Scaling readiness: idea maturity 7/9; level of use 8/9

Project adoption1

Technology integrated in the ENSURE- East Africa project.

Project	Beneficiaries	Budget	Duration	Key figures
ENSURE- East Africa Enabling Environments for Sustainable Regional Agriculture Extension	3,000,000 farmers.	13.14 million	2024–2027	149,940 farmer leaders & trained farmers. 9,996 trained. 2 → 3.5 t/ha.

See project details ›

Adults 18 and over: Positive high

The poor: Positive medium

Under 18: Positive medium

Women: Positive high

Climate adaptability: Moderately adaptable

Farmer climate change readiness: Significant improvement

Biodiversity: No impact on biodiversity

Carbon footprint: Same amount of carbon released

Environmental health: Does not improve environmental health

Soil quality: Does not affect soil health and fertility

Water use: Same amount of water used

Problem

Pervasive Yield Losses: African common beans are significantly affected by fungal diseases and insect pests like anthracnose, root rots, and stem maggots, leading to substantial yield losses.
Risk to Profitability: Infestations pose a significant risk to the profitability of improved crop varieties and the investments made by farmers in fertilizers.
Endangering Planting Material: Diseases and pests harbored by seeds endanger the integrity of planting material stocks, threatening the viability of future crops and risking widespread agricultural setbacks.
Threat of Crop Failure: Soil-borne diseases and insect pests pose a severe risk to common bean crops, leading to sparse plant density and even complete crop failure, exacerbating food insecurity and economic instability.

Solution

Prevention of Losses and Enhanced Production: Dressing common bean seeds with chemical control agents offers a cheap and environmentally friendly technology to prevent losses and enhance production.
Improved Seedling Emergence: The seed treatment approach results in better seedling emergence, strengthening the resistance of crop stands throughout the growing season.
Uniform Application of Control Agents: Seed dressing achieves a very high degree and efficiency of crop protection by guaranteeing uniform application of control agents, minimizing undesired effects on non-target organisms in soils and spillage of chemicals into water bodies.
Widely Adoptable Solution: The advantage of seed dressing lies in its simplicity and adaptability, as it doesn’t require specialized equipment and can be easily performed at farms and factories, making it a solution that can be widely adopted across different agricultural regions.

Key points to design your program

Low-dose Pest Control is a seed treatment technology that protects common bean seeds against fungal diseases and early-season insect pests through the application of fungicides and insecticides before planting. The technology improves seedling establishment, crop health, and yields while minimizing pesticide use and reducing environmental contamination. It can be integrated into common bean value chain development, integrated pest management, food security, sustainable crop protection, and climate-smart agriculture programs. Its adoption contributes to SDGs 1 (No Poverty), 2 (Zero Hunger), 3 (Good Health and Well-being), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and 13 (Climate Action).

To integrate this technology into your project, plan and budget for the following activities and prerequisites:

Assess common bean production systems, disease and pest prevalence, seed supply chains, and farmers' access to certified seed treatment products.
Facilitate access to approved fungicide and insecticide seed treatment products, appropriate application equipment, and certified quality seed through sustainable distribution systems.
Support training for farmers, seed producers, agrodealers, cooperatives, women's groups, youth enterprises, and extension agents on safe seed treatment procedures, integrated pest management, and responsible pesticide handling.
Invest in demonstration activities, extension services, awareness campaigns, and local seed treatment capacity to accelerate adoption.
Promote seed dressing as part of integrated crop management to improve seedling emergence, reduce crop losses, optimize pesticide use, and increase bean productivity.
Support the participation of women and youth in seed production, agro-input distribution, and extension service delivery.
Establish partnerships with The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), national agricultural research and extension services, certified seed companies, agrodealers, and development partners to support technology dissemination and large-scale adoption.
Track key indicators such as adoption rates, seedling emergence, disease and pest incidence, bean yields, pesticide use efficiency, farmer income, and safe pesticide handling practices.

50 USD

Equipment for manual application

500 USD

Equipment for mechanized application for a small unit

2,000 USD

Equipment for mechanized application for a large unit

IP

Open source / open access

Scaling Readiness describes how complete a technology\’s development is and its ability to be scaled. It produces a score that measures a technology\’s readiness along two axes: the level of maturity of the idea itself, and the level to which the technology has been used so far.

Each axis goes from 0 to 9 where 9 is the “ready-to-scale” status. For each technology profile in the e-catalogs we have documented the scaling readiness status from evidence given by the technology providers. The e-catalogs only showcase technologies for which the scaling readiness score is at least 8 for maturity of the idea and 7 for the level of use.

The graph below represents visually the scaling readiness status for this technology, you can see the label of each level by hovering your mouse cursor on the number.

Scaling readiness score of this technology

Maturity of the idea 7 out of 9

Semi-controlled environment: prototype

Level of use 7 out of 9

Used by some intended users, in the real world

Maturity of the idea										Level of use
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9

Project	Beneficiaries	Budget	Duration	Key figures
ENSURE- East Africa Enabling Environments for Sustainable Regional Agriculture Extension	3,000,000 farmers.	13.14 million	2024–2027	149,940 farmer leaders & trained farmers. 9,996 trained. 2 → 3.5 t/ha.

Countries with a green colour: Tested & adopted
Countries with a bright green colour: Adopted
Countries with a yellow colour: Tested
Countries with a blue colour: Testing ongoing

Countries where the technology is being tested or has been tested and adopted
Country	Testing ongoing	Tested	Adopted
Burundi	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Cameroon	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Democratic Republic of the Congo	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Ethiopia	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Kenya	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Malawi	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Mozambique	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Nigeria	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Rwanda	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
South Sudan	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Tanzania	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Uganda	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Zambia	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Zimbabwe	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted

This technology can be used in the colored agro-ecological zones. Any zones shown in white are not suitable for this technology.

Agro-ecological zones where this technology can be used
AEZ	Subtropic - warm	Subtropic - cool	Tropic - warm	Tropic - cool
Arid	–	–	–	–
Semiarid	–		–
Subhumid	–		–
Humid

Source: HarvestChoice/IFPRI 2009

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that are applicable to this technology.

Goal 1: no poverty

Goal 2: zero hunger

Goal 3: good health and well-being

Goal 8: decent work and economic growth

Goal 12: responsible production and consumption

Goal 13: climate action

Weighing of Bean Seeds: Weigh the bean seeds to ascertain the required chemical dosage.
Preparation of Chemical Formulas: Liquid formulas can be directly coated or diluted for use. Dry formulas, containing adhesives, are added directly to seeds.
Manual Seed Dressing: For smaller seed volumes, use common receptacles or manually treat seeds in plastic buckets or basins. Seeds can be sprayed with the solution on a polythene sheet.
Mechanical Seed Dressing: For larger seed volumes, utilize mixers, hoppers, or rotary drums powered by hand or motor.
Planting and Application: Following seed treatment, plant the common beans using recommended land preparation, spacing, and fertilizers in specific growing areas.