Soil additives for promoting seed germination, for prevention of evaporation and methods for use

1. A method for improving the germination rate of a plant or crop comprising contacting a top layer of a target soil area with a surface additive, whereby the surface additive forms a layer on the target soil area wherein contacting a top layer of a target soil area with a surface additive occurs prior to or during water-stressed conditions, wherein water-stressed conditions means that the target soil area is watered with less than 8 mm of water over at least a 3 day period, over at least a 4 day period, over at least a 5 day period, over at least a 7 day period, or over at least a 10 day period.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the soil is selected from the group consisting of clay soil, sandy soil, silty soil, peaty soil, loamy soil, chalky soil and any combination thereof.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the soil is soil characterized by a mean particle diameter (D 50 ) of less than or equal to about 50 μm.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein contacting the top layer of soil comprises spraying an aqueous mixture containing the surface additive onto the soil.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the aqueous mixture further comprises an adjuvant, surfactant, fertilizer, pesticide, or a combination of any of the foregoing.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the surface additive is selected from polyacrylamide, poly(methacrylic acid), poly(acrylic acid), polyacrylate, poly(ethylene glycol), phosphonate-end capped polymers, polyethyleneoxide, poly(vinyl alcohol), polyglycerol, polytetrahydrofuran, polyamide, guar, unwashed guar gum, washed guar gum, cationic guar, carboxymethyl guar (CM guar), hydroxyethyl guar (HE guar), hydroxypropyl guar (HP guar), carboxymethylhydroxypropyl guar (CMHP guar), cationic guar, hydrophobically modified guar (HM guar), hydrophobically modified carboxymethyl guar (HMCM guar), hydrophobically modified hydroxyethyl guar (HMHE guar), hydrophobically modified hydroxypropyl guar (HMHP guar), cationic hydrophobically modified hydroxypropyl guar (cationic HMHP guar), hydrophobically modified carboxymethylhydroxypropyl guar (HMCMHP guar), hydrophobically modified cationic guar (HM cationic guar), guar hydroxypropyl trimonium chloride, hydroxypropyl guar hydroxypropyl trimonium chloride, starch, corn, wheat, rice, potato, tapioca, waxy maize, sorghum, waxy sarghum, sago, dextrin, chitin, chitosan, alginate compositions, xanthan gum, carageenan gum, gum karaya, gum arabic, pectin, cellulose, hydroxycellulose, hydroxyalkyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, carboxymethylhydroxyethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, cationic starch, cationic hydroxyethyl celluslose, a derivative of any of the foregoing or a combination of any of the foregoing.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising contacting a seed within the target soil area with the surface additive.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the seed is of the species or subspecies selected from the group consisting of Brassica rapa, Brassica chinensis and Brassica pekinensis.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the seed is selected from the group consisting of crop seeds, cereal seeds, ornamental seeds, vegetable seeds, turf seeds, grass seeds, horticultural seeds, non-crop seeds, and any combination thereof.

10. The method of claim 7 wherein the seed is from a crop or vegetable selected from corn, wheat, sorghum, soybean, tomato, cauliflower, radish, cabbage, canola, lettuce, rye grass, grass, rice, cotton or sunflower.

11. The method of claim 7 wherein the seed is selected from the group consisting of corn, Brassica sp., alfalfa, rice, rye, sorghum, millet, proso millet, foxtail millet, finger millet, sunflower, safflower, wheat, soybean, tobacco, potato, peanuts, cotton, sweet potato, cassava, coffee, coconut, pineapple, citrus trees, cocoa, tea, banana, avocado, fig, guava, mango, olive, papaya, cashew, macadamia, almond, sugar beets, sugarcane, oat, barley, vegetable, ornamental, woody plants, squash, pumpkin, hemp, zucchini, apple, pear, quince, melon, plum, cherry, peach, nectarine, apricot, strawberry, grape, raspberry, blackberry, soybean, sorghum, sugarcane, rapeseed, clover, carrot, tomatoes, lettuce, green beans, lima beans, peas, cauliflower, broccoli, turnip, radish, spinach, asparagus, onion, garlic, pepper, celery, cucumber, cantaloupe, melon, musk melon, hydrangea, hibiscus, petunias, roses, azalea, tulips, daffodils, carnation, poinsettia, chrysanthemum, loblolly pine, slash pine, ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, monterey pine, Douglas-fir, Western hemlock, Sitka spruce, redwood, silver fir, balsam fir, western red cedar, Alaska yellow-cedar, beans, peas, guar, locust bean, fenugreek, soybean, garden beans, cowpea, mungbean, lima bean, fava bean, lentils, chickpea, pea, moth bean, broad bean, kidney bean, lentil, dry bean, Arachis , peanuts, Vicia , crown vetch, hairy vetch, adzuki bean, mung bean, chickpea, Lupinus, Pisum, Melilotus, Medicago, Lotus , lens, false indigo, turf grass, orchard grass, tall fescue, perennial ryegrass, creeping bent grass, lucerne, birdsfoot trefoil, stylosanthes species, lotononis bainessii , sainfoin and any combination thereof.

12. The method of claim 7 wherein the seed is selected from the group consisting of corn, Brassica sp., alfalfa, rice, rye, sorghum, millet, proso millet, foxtail millet, finger millet, sunflower, safflower, wheat, soybean, tobacco, potato, peanuts, cotton, sweet potato, cassava, coffee, coconut, pineapple, citrus trees, cocoa, tea, banana, avocado, fig, guava, mango, olive, papaya, cashew, macadamia, almond, sugar beets, sugarcane, oat, barley, vegetable, ornamental, woody plants, squash, pumpkin, hemp, zucchini, apple, pear, quince, melon, plum, cherry, peach, nectarine, apricot, strawberry, grape, raspberry, blackberry, soybean, sorghum, sugarcane, rapeseed, clover, carrot, tomatoes, lettuce, green beans, lima beans, peas, cauliflower, broccoli, turnip, radish, spinach, asparagus, onion, garlic, pepper, celery, cucumber, cantaloupe, melon, musk melon, hydrangea, hibiscus, petunias, roses, azalea, tulips, daffodils, carnation, poinsettia, chrysanthemum, loblolly pine, slash pine, ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, monterey pine, Douglas-fir, Western hemlock, Sitka spruce, redwood, silver fir, balsam fir, western red cedar, Alaska yellow-cedar, beans, peas, guar, locust bean, fenugreek, soybean, garden beans, cowpea, mungbean, lima bean, fava bean, lentils, chickpea, pea, moth bean, broad bean, kidney bean, lentil, dry bean, Arachis , peanuts, Vicia , crown vetch, hairy vetch, adzuki bean, mung bean, chickpea, Lupinus, Pisum, Melilotus, Medicago, Lotus , lens, false indigo, turf grass, orchard grass, tall fescue, perennial ryegrass, creeping bent grass, lucerne, birdsfoot trefoil, stylosanthes species, lotononis bainessii , sainfoin and any combination thereof.

13. A method for improving the germination rate of a plant or crop comprising contacting a top layer of a target soil area with a surface additive, whereby the surface additive forms a layer on the target soil area wherein the surface additive comprises a cationic surfactant and the cationic surfactant is a compound according to formula (I) below:

wherein R 1 , R 2 , R 3 and R 4 , are each independently the same or a different organic group; and

wherein X − is an anion.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising contacting a seed within the target soil area with the surface additive.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the seed is of the species or subspecies selected from the group consisting of Brassica rapa, Brassica chinensis and Brassica pekinensis.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein the seed is selected from the group consisting of crop seeds, cereal seeds, ornamental seeds, vegetable seeds, turf seeds, grass seeds, horticultural seeds, non-crop seeds, and any combination thereof.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein the seed is from a crop or vegetable selected from corn, wheat, sorghum, soybean, tomato, cauliflower, radish, cabbage, canola, lettuce, rye grass, grass, rice, cotton or sunflower.

18. A method for improving the germination rate of a plant or crop comprising contacting a top layer of a target soil area with a surface additive, whereby the surface additive forms a layer on the target soil area wherein the surface additive comprises a cationic surfactant and the cationic surfactant is selected from the group consisting of cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide, cetyl trimethyl ammonium chloride, myristyl trimethyl ammonium bromide, stearyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride, oleyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride, lauryl/myristryl trimethyl ammonium methosulfate, cetyl-dimethyl-(2)hydroxyethyl ammonium dihydrogen phosphate, bassuamidopropylkonium chloride, cocotrimonium chloride, distearyldimonium chloride, wheat germ-amidopropalkonium chloride, stearyl octyldimonium methosulfate, isostearaminopropal-konium chloride, dihydroxypropyl PEG-5 linoleaminium chloride, PEG-2 stearmonium chloride, Quaternium 18, Quaternium 80, Quaternium 82, Quaternium 84, behentrimonium chloride, dicetyl dimonium chloride, behentrimonium methosulfate, tallow trimonium chloride, behenamidopropyl ethyl dimonium ethosulfate, distearyldimonium chloride, dicetyl dimonium chloride, stearyl octyldimonium methosulfate, dihydrogenated palmoylethyl hydroxyethylmonium methosulfate, dipalmitoylethyl hydroxyethylmonium methosulfate, dioleoylethyl hydroxyethylmonium methosulfate, hydroxypropyl bisstearyldimonium chloride, isostearyl benzylimidonium chloride, cocoyl benzyl hydroxyethyl imidazolinium chloride, cocoyl hydroxyethylimidazolinium PG-chloride phosphate, Quaternium 32, stearyl hydroxyethylimidonium chloride, and any combination thereof.