agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

, precision seeding is a method of

seeding The term seeding and related terms such as seeded are used in several different contexts: *Sowing, planting seeds in a place or on an object *Cloud seeding, manipulating cloud formations *Seeding (computing), a concept in computing and peer-to-pee ...

that involves placing

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

at a precise spacing and depth. This is in contrast to broadcast seeding, where seed is scattered over an area. Although precise hand placement would qualify, precision seeding usually refers to a mechanical process. A wide range of hand-push and powered precision seeders are available for small- to large-scale jobs. Using a variety of actions, they all open the soil, place the seed, then cover it, to create rows. There are also precision seeders for planting flats of seeds for indoor seed starting. The depth and spacing is generally adjustable to accommodate a range of crops and the desired plant density; the degree of adjustability depends upon the chosen seeder. In commercial production, precision seeding is an alternative to placing larger quantities of seed in a row, by dribbling seed or setting several seeds in each position. Depending on the device, precision seeders may place only one, or a very few seeds per position. This is an advantage, in that it saves seed and it avoids crowding, or the need for

thinning Thinning is a term used in agricultural sciences to mean the removal of some plants, or parts of plants, to make room for the growth of others. Selective removal of parts of a plant such as branches, buds, or roots is typically known as pruning. ...

, allowing plants the space to grow efficiently. On the downside, by placing fewer seeds, a very high

germination rate Germination is the process by which an organism grows from a seed or spore. The term is applied to the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm, the growth of a sporeling from a spore, such as the spores of fungi, ...

is required to make full use of the seeded area.

References

Seeds {{Agriculture-stub

See also

References