Bentoseed™
Bentoseed™ is a line of powdered mineral solutions developed to optimize seed coating, encrusting, and pelleting processes. Based on minerals with high plasticity and absorbent properties, Bentoseed™ products promote efficient agglomeration and deliver high-quality, uniform coatings — ensuring consistent seed performance, improved handling, and support for early plant development.
A key advantage of Bentoseed™ technology is its ability to enable effective seed coating without the need for additional synthetic additives, reducing the use of water, graphite, glues, and organic polymers while simplifying the overall coating process.
Product Information
Bentoseed™ delivers consistent mass distribution across the seed surface, producing uniform coatings that maintain integrity through handling and planting — critical for precision seeding equipment.
Reduced Use of Water, Graphite, and Synthetic Binders
- By leveraging the natural plasticity and adhesion of mineral-based binders, Bentoseed™ reduces dependence on graphite, water, glues, and organic polymers — lowering input costs and simplifying the formulation process.
Gel-Like Coating with Easy Release
- The gel-like consistency of Bentoseed™ coatings facilitates smooth processing on coating equipment and ensures clean release during planting, without clogging or buildup.
Support for Early Plant Development
- Bentoseed™ promotes uniform germination and early emergence, contributing to stand establishment and crop uniformity from the start of the season.
Efficient Incorporation of Active Ingredients
- The mineral matrix allows efficient incorporation and controlled release of nutrients, biologicals, and crop protection agents applied as part of the seed treatment.
Greater Nutrient Retention During Early Growth
- The high surface area and absorbent properties of Bentoseed™ minerals improve nutrient availability during the critical early growth stages, supporting seedling vigor.
Bentoseed™ solutions are recommended for a wide range of seed coating and encrusting applications, including:
- Agricultural seeds requiring uniform coating and increased weight — including soybeans, corn, wheat, cotton, vegetables, and pasture grasses.
- Seed treatments incorporating nutrients, biological inoculants, or crop protection agents, where coating integrity and ingredient retention are critical.
- Seed pelleting processes aiming to replace or reduce synthetic binders and additives.
- Industrial seed coating operations that demand high consistency, process simplicity, and reproducible results batch-to-batch.
Q: What is the difference between seed coating, encrusting, and pelleting?
A: Seed coating applies a thin layer of material to the seed surface, primarily for treatment incorporation or flow improvement. Encrusting adds a thicker mineral layer that significantly increases seed weight and size. Pelleting creates a uniform, round pellet around the seed — typically for very small or irregularly shaped seeds — to enable precision planting. Bentoseed™ supports all three processes.
Q: Can Bentoseed™ reduce graphite use in seed coating?
A: Yes. One of the key benefits of Bentoseed™ technology is the reduction in graphite consumption during the coating process. The mineral's natural lubricating and flow-enhancing properties can partially or fully replace graphite, lowering costs and environmental impact.
Q: Which Bentoseed™ grade is right for my operation?
A: Bentoseed™ Standard is suitable for most conventional seed coating applications. Bentoseed™ Premium is recommended when superior binding strength and coating quality are required. Bentoseed™ Optimum is designed for high-throughput industrial operations where maximum consistency and adhesion are critical. Contact Clariant for a formulation assessment based on your specific seeds and process.
Q: Is Bentoseed™ compatible with biological seed treatments?
A: Yes. Bentoseed™ mineral coatings are compatible with biological inoculants and microbial seed treatments. The gentle, mineral-based matrix supports the viability of biologicals better than some synthetic binder systems, though compatibility testing is recommended for specific biological strains.
Q: What crops are most commonly treated with Bentoseed™?
A: Bentoseed™ is widely used for coating soybeans, corn, wheat, sunflower, and vegetable seeds. It is also applied to pasture grass seeds and other small-seeded crops where uniform coating is critical for mechanical planting precision.
The Bentoseed™ line includes three grades formulated for different performance requirements:
- Bentoseed™ — The standard grade for seed coating and encrusting applications requiring reliable agglomeration and uniform mass distribution.
- Bentoseed™ Premium — Enhanced performance for processes demanding superior coating quality and stronger binding properties.
- Bentoseed™ Optimum — The highest-performance grade for industrial seed coating operations that require maximum process efficiency, consistency, and the strongest adhesion.
Grade selection should be based on coating process type, desired seed weight increase, and the active ingredients or biologicals incorporated into the treatment.
