Mobile THERMOSEED equipment replaces chemical pesticide use in the Brazilian plant production

Purpose and goal

The aim was to reduce the use of chemical pesticides in agriculture with the project goal to develop a method for environmentally friendly seed production. The project goals have been achieved in all respects. According to project plan and budget, a mobile Thermoseed equipment, adapted to intermodal containers, has been developed for the Brazilian market. Environmentally friendly and safe treatment of Brachiaria seeds can be commenced commercially in Brazil. The mobile Thermoseed equipment can also be used for seed treatment of other seed types.

Expected results and effects

The project has, according to the project plan, delivered a mobile Thermoseed equipment adapted to intermodal containers for the Brazilian market. The expected effects are initially estimated to be that conventional treatment of Brachiaria seed with chemical pesticides will be continuously replaced with environmentally friendly mobile Thermoseed treatment. In the longer term, conventional chemical treatment of seed from other crops is also expected to be done using Thermoseed technology based on already commercially available stationary seed production.

Planned approach and implementation

As the coordinating project partner, Lantmännen BioAgri has been responsible for the management of the project. Despite the large geographical distance between Sweden and Brazil, the project has been relatively easy to manage. The setup of placing the main part of the technical product development into Sweden and the evaluation in Brazil has worked well. Collaboration and information flow between technology, IT and the project part that focused on biology has worked well as did also the technology transfer to Brazil.