Development of methods for multi-seed pellets using native shrubs and forbs

采矿后的复垦管理是复杂的，需要资源开采行业建立一个功能齐全的草本植物，灌木和树木的植物群落。大多数情况下，所设想的植物群落是使用苗圃苗木实现的。一个具有成本效益的替代方法来重建植物群落是通过直接播种。种子在开垦地的成功使用受到播种种子非常差的限制。种子与土壤接触不良，种子因捕食而丢失，种子休眠是限制出苗和植物建立成功的主要因素。种子包衣是将同一或不同物种的单个种子或多个种子用活性成分覆盖在单个分散单元中的实践。这项技术在本地灌木和杂类草中的应用可以为复垦企业在复垦现场应用直播播种时遇到的挑战提供解决方案。本项目旨在协助一家小型企业开发灌木和杂类植物多粒种子丸的方法，并对其发芽和幼苗生长进行测试。该项目将评估添加三种不同的填充材料与有机粘合剂，以覆盖来自两种灌木和两种杂类草的两种种子;然后在实验室和温室进行发芽测试。项目成果将为苗圃和开垦企业提供高效的种子强化方法，由于主要跨国种子公司的“商业保密”，他们无法获得这些方法。中小型企业也缺乏进行科学实验和开发种子包衣配方的能力。预计研究结果将提高商业播种过程的效率，提高种子出苗率和存活率，降低复垦成本，并允许恢复从业人员在复垦地点建立植物物种多样性。

Post-mining reclamation regulation is complex and requires the resource extraction industry to establish a fully functioning plant community of herbaceous, shrubs, and trees. Most often, the envisioned plant communities are achieved using nursery stock seedlings. A cost-effective alternative method to re-establish plantcommunities is by direct seeding. The successful use of seeds in reclamation sites is constrained by a very poor establishment of sown seeds. Poor seed-to-soil contact, loss of seed due to predation, and seed dormancy are among the main factors limiting seedling emergence and plants establishment success. Seed coating is thepractice of covering single seed or multiple seeds of the same or different species into a single dispersal unitwith active ingredients. The application of this technology to native shrubs and forbs could provide a solution to challenges that reclamation enterprises encounter while applying direct broadcast seeding on reclamationsites. This project aims at assisting a small enterprise in developing methods for multi-seed pellets of shrub andforb and testing their germination and seedling growth. The project will assess the addition of three different filler materials with an organic binder to coat two seed species from two shrubs and two forbs; followed bygermination testing in the lab and greenhouse. The project outcomes will equip nurseries and reclamationenterprises with efficient seed enhancement methodology, which they do not have access to due to'commercial-in-confidence' by the major multinational seed companies. Small- to medium-sized enterprises(SMEs) also lack the capability to conduct scientific experiments and develop their seed coating recipes. It is anticipated that the findings of the study will increase efficiency in the commercial seeding process, improve seed emergence and survival rate, reduce the cost of reclamation, and allow restoration practitioners toestablish plant species diversity in reclamation sites.