Embodiments of the present invention relate to seeds coated with a coating comprising (a) a water-swellable polymer; (b) one or more controlled-release fertilizers; (c) bone meal substantially free of protein; and (d) optionally one or more fungicides.
1. A seed comprising a coating, wherein said coating comprises:
(a) a water-swellable polymer;
(b) one or more controlled-release fertilizers; and
(c) bone meal, wherein the bone meal comprises less than 15% protein content and less than 5% fat content.
2. The seed of claim 1 , wherein the water-swellable polymer comprises a cross-linked polyacrylamide polymer; a cross-linked polyacrylate polymer; a cross-linked polyacrylamide/polyacrylate polymer; a polymer resulting from the grafting of acrylonitrile onto saponified starch, or mixtures thereof.
3. The seed of claim 1 , wherein the water-swellable polymer comprises carrageenan, agar, alginic acid, gellan gum, or mixtures thereof.
4. The seed of claim 1 , wherein the one or more controlled-release fertilizers comprise a compound of the formula:
wherein R is hydrogen or alkyl.
5. The seed of claim 4 , wherein R is alkyl.
6. The seed of claim 5 , wherein R is iso-propyl.
7. The seed of claim 1 , wherein the one or more controlled-release fertilizers comprise a methylene-urea polymer of the formula:
wherein R is hydrogen or alkyl and n is an integer from 2 to 10.
8. The seed of claim 7 , wherein R is hydrogen.
9. The seed of claim 1 , wherein the bone meal has an N-P-K analysis where the phosphorus content is at least 30.
10. The seed of claim 1 , wherein the bone meal has an N-P-K analysis of 1-30-0.
11. The seed of claim 1 , wherein the bone meal is porcine bone meal.
12. The seed of claim 1 , further comprising at least one fungicide.
13. A method of coating a seed comprising:
(d) coating seeds with a sticking agent; and
(e) adding to the seeds coated with the sticking agent one or more controlled-release fertilizers; and bone meal; wherein the bone meal comprises a protein content of less than 15% and a fat content of less than 5%.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the method further comprises a drying step following step (b).
15. The method of claim 13 , wherein the one or more controlled-release fertilizers and bone meal are added in series.
16. The method of claim 13 , wherein the one or more controlled-release fertilizers are mixed with the bone meal.
17. The method of claim 13 , wherein the sticking agent comprises polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene glycol or mixtures thereof.
18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the sticking agent further comprises water.
19. The method of claim 13 , wherein the bone meal comprises a protein content of about 10% and a fat content of about 2.5%.
20. The method of claim 13 , further comprising adding at least one fungicide.
21. The method of claim 13 , further comprising adding an intermediate layer before the addition of the fertilizer.
22. The method of claim 21 , wherein the intermediate layer comprises silicaceous materials, calcium carbonate, talc, or combinations thereof.
23. The seed of claim 1 , wherein the bone meal comprises a protein content of about 10% and a fat content of about 2.5%.
24. The seed of claim 1 , wherein the seed comprises an intermediate layer between the seed and the fertilizer.
25. The seed of claim 24 , wherein the intermediate layer comprises silicacous silicaceous material, calcium carbonate, talc, or combinations thereof.