Seedlynx Technical Sheet

Cultivation Guidelines

1. Sowing period:
Sowing should be carried out so that post germination there is a period of at least 105 days during which the day length is greater than 12 hours. The best minimum temperature for sowing is around 15oC.
2. Sowing procedure:
The seeds should not be sown too deeply, with an optimum depth being around 2 mm, and may be sown in rows (30cm). Make sure that the soil has been cultivated or ploughed to around 40 cm deep ensuring that the roots can easily penetrate the soil. Ensuring good conditions at germination time is the key to good establishment. Sufficient moisture for germination is needed for at least 4 days after sowing along with adequate supplies post germination for growth. Soil blowing on light lands can easily damage the young seedlings. If the fertility levels are low, an application of a high N fertiliser can aid initial growth. The newly emerged seedlings are susceptible to slug and snail damage, so a careful watch should be kept.
3. Ultra violet light:
In the case of sowing in plastic tunnels, the plastic should be UV stabilised to ensure maximum passage of UV light. This aspect is particularly important because UV light is necessary for the synthesis of specific chemical compounds in the plant (e.g. thiophenes.) that exert a nematocidal effect.
4.Weeds:
The area being treated should be kept weed free as even small weeds can provide reservoirs of infection, with prevention being better than cure in this respect.
The best weed control system identified by the trials in the Netherlands is as follows:-
Spray with a combination of 0.5 Betanal (Fenmedifam) and 0.5 Goltix (metamitron) in 100 – 400 litres of water before the Polynema reaches the two true leaf stage. Repeat the application after 7 days.
Two further applications are then made with 0.75 Betanal and 0.75 Goltix ensuring that weed growth is completely suppressed.

This approach has been used in other crops and has been labeled as the LDS or Low Dose System
Do not use water that contains a lot of Calcium (Ca) or Iron (Fe) and use a fine nozzle.
Spraying should take place in cloudy conditions or in the evening with the temperature not exceeding 23 deg C. The crop should be dry.
This spraying guide is for guidance only and should be adapted to the environmental circumstances of the country (area) where Polynema is used (temperature, light, humidity etc.). Specialist advice should be sought where the grower has no previous experience of using a low dose system for weed control. The use of chemicals must be in accordance with the regulations in the country where they are used.
5. Growing period:
The crop should stand for 90 – 100 days to ensure that the optimum nematocidal effect is achieved. Leaving for this length of time allows the majority of the nematodes to move into the roots of Tagetes Polynema.
6. End of growing period:
There is no harmful effect in allowing the crop to stand longer than 100 days. With plants often reaching 3m in height, it will ease subsequent cultivations to chop the plant into manageable lengths. It should be borne in mind that “spray” from the chopping process can cause damage to adjoining crops and the output of the machinery should be kept within the plot. A period of 10 days drying on the ground will help kill the plants and aid ploughing.
7. Short day plant:
Tagetes Polynema is a so-called short day plant. This means that the plant needs at least 12 hours of daylight during the time (90 – 100 days) that it is growing.

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