High-Quality Processing

SESVanderHave’s factories in Tienen (Belgium) and Kiev (the Ukraine) subject the sugar beet seeds to many complex and high-tech treatments to ensure farmers worldwide receive only the highest quality seed possible. Puzzle your way through our processing proces:

High-tech processing 

The processing of sugar beet seeds consists of several steps. When the pre-cleaned raw seeds from the production areas arrive at the factory, the actual cleaning process begins. Little sticks, stones, dried earth and foreign seeds are removed. Subsequently, seeds that are too small, hollow seeds and seeds with inadequate germination are screened and removed. The remaining seeds are then polished and sorted. This is a highly selective process.

Cleaning

Different batches of bulk seed are cleaned separately. Cleaning ensures that twigs, stones, dried earth and non sugar beet seeds (such as cereals and sunflowers) are removed. At the same time those sugar beet seeds which are too large or too small, or empty or have insufficiently developed embryos are rejected.

During this highly selective process, the seeds are polished and sorted by weight, after which only 25 % remain as good seed to be sold in naked or pelleted form.
 

Steeping and priming

Sometimes the seed shell contains a far too high concentration of germination inhibitors.

To counter this problem we can use special techniques called ‘steeping’ and ‘priming’. Steeping can be seen as a good, intense washing of the seed to clean it from most of the germination inhibitors.

Priming goes even further, and starts up the germination process itself.

A difficult business: germination may only be initialized not completed during the treatment! 

Pelleting

The next step is pelleting. The polished seed is pelleted with a specialist powder based on clay and wood flour, which gives the seed an even round shape. A uniform shape is very important for ease of planting through a grower’s equipment in the field. This pelleting process is carried out in rotating drums in which the seeds are continuously sprayed with water and powder until they have a perfectly round shape. Then, the seed is dried down to harden the pelleted seed. Thanks to SESVanderHave’s sophisticated machines, this process is highly accurate, further improving the quality of the seeds.

Coating

Pelleting is followed by the chemical coating and colouring. This thin coating layer consists of a mixture of fungicides and pesticides. By applying them directly onto the pill, the overall quantity of pesticides can be strongly reduced and targeted, which makes the process more environmentally friendly. The mixture also contains colouring and a protective polymer to protect the seed until planted.

Packaging

The seeds are finally packed in units of one hundred thousand seeds, providing further protection for seed during transport, storage and handling. The seeds are then transported to more than fifty countries all over the world. Only 20 to 25 percent of the harvested seeds are finally sold as commercial seed, showing the stringent quality control that goes to ensure only the best seed is used.

Every year, SESVanderHave distributes almost one million units of sugar beet seed - that is one hundred billion seeds - to more than 50 countries worldwide.