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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Burns, Oregon » Range and Meadow Forage Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #419870
Research Project: Sagebrush Rangeland Conservation and Restoration

Location: Range and Meadow Forage Management Research

Title: Assessing commercially produced herbicide protection seed coatings and the effects of seeding strategy and added biostimulant film coating

Author
item BAUGHMAN, OWEN - The Nature Conservancy
item KILDISHEVA, OLGA - The Nature Conservancy
item DUQUETTE, CAMERON - The Nature Conservancy
item Boyd, Chad
item ESHLEMAN, MAGGIE - The Nature Conservancy
item OWENS, MICHAELA - The Nature Conservancy
item RIGINOS, CORINNA - The Nature Conservancy
item Rios, Roxanne
item SCHROEDER, CORINNE - The Nature Conservancy

Submitted to: Restoration Ecology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/21/2025
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Seed herbicide protection (HP) coatings may allow for simultaneous seeding of native perennial bunchgrasses and application of pre-emergent herbicides to control invasive annual grasses on sagebrush steppe rangeland. We tested the efficacy of three HP seed coatings on seeding success at two planting depths in a small plot experiment. We found that HP coatings imparted herbicide protection to young seedlings and these benefits persisted into patterns of adult establishment two years after seeding, with deeper furrows often improving initial establishment. Our findings suggest that these commercially produced and scalable HP prototypes are suitable for at-scale demonstrations.

Technical Abstract: Exotic invasive plant species threaten biodiversity, ecosystem resilience, and ecological function. Pre -emergent herbicides are popular tools for managing invasive annual plants, but control is often temporary. Herbicide protection (HP) seed technologies have been under development to improve the success of seed-based restoration in invasive-dominated areas by establishing desirable plants concurrently with controlling exotic plants using pre-emergent herbicide. Many HP prototypes have been tested in a dryland restoration context over the last decade, and many assessments suggest additional refinements that may improve efficacy of the product and restoration approach. We combined laboratory and multi-site field trials across the sagebrush ecosystem of western North America to assess the performance of refined HP seed coatings for two perennial bunchgrasses and one perennial shrub against two controls: bare seed dusted with pure powdered carbon and bare seed without carbon. We also tested whether added nutrient coatings (in a lab trial) and/or depth of furrow -seeding (in the field) affected seeding outcomes. The laboratory trial demonstrated herbicide protection (improved growth when compared to bare seed in the presence of herbicide) for all carbon treatments (especially powdered carbon), and no effects of the nutrient coating. The field trial also demonstrated herbicide protection of young seedlings, primarily grasses, from the HP carbon coating, and these benefits persisted into patterns of adult establishment two years after seeding. Deeper furrows often improved initial establishment for all species, and improved herbicide protection for one grass species. Adult establishment from HP coatings (but not other treatments) was high enough to suggest that future at-scale use of HP seed technology can be effective at improving restoration outcomes in the presence of herbicide.