agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

, 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 In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

at a precise spacing and depth. This is in contrast to

broadcast seeding In agriculture, gardening, and forestry, broadcast seeding is a method of seeding that involves scattering seed, by hand or mechanically, over a relatively large area. This is in contrast to: * precision seeding, where seed is placed at a precise ...

, 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 In agricultural sciences, thinning is 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''. In forestry ...

, allowing plants the space to grow efficiently. On the downside, by placing fewer seeds, a very high germination rate is required to make full use of the seeded area.

References

Seeds {{Agriculture-stub

See also

References