International Seed Industry and Food Production Potential of NZ Small- and Medium-Scale Direct Drilling Technologies

Summary Improved New Zealand direct drilling / seeding technologies practised as no-tillage and reduced tillage using small and medium-scale light-weight equipment offer a new dimension for sustainable agriculture globally covering seed industries and general food production in developing and developed economies. New Zealand scientists and engineers have researched and developed unique technologies that (1) create definable inverted-T-shaped seed slot micro-environments to improve seed performance and seedling emergence, and (2) improve low-cost foam-plastic seed and fertiliser metering devices that provide minimal damage and maximum accuracy. These developments are now available, with varying degrees of sophistication, from a range of NZ manufacturers, as matching technologies for 7-11kw1, 3756kw, and 56kw and above tractors. These technologies apply at all levels of the seed and food chain / industry throughout the world including research, research-outreach, extension and production on non-cultivated as well as cultivated land.