How Coatings Work

Intellicoat Seed Coatings can be used in a variety of ways.

Intellicoat seed coatings can be programmed to work in two different ways.

• Delay Switch
  • Polymers have been developed to delay germination by requiring that the coated seed be exposed to a specific amount of accumulated heat units.
  • The current commercial application is Pollinator Plus®, the delay coating for male inbreds used in hybrid seed corn production.
• Temperature Switch
  • These polymers regulate water uptake in the seed which controls germination by controlling permeability as a function of temperature.
  • The coating can change an infinite number of times between impermeable and permeable as the temperature moves from cold to hot and then hot to cold across a pre-set  temperature.
  • Unlike traditional polymers, Intelimer polymers undergo a drastic change in properties at the switch temperature by going from impermeable to highly permeable within a temperature change of 1 - 2 C.
  • At temperatures below the switch temperature, the polymer structure is "closely packed" and is impermeable.
  • Above the switch temperature the polymer is flexible and its structure is "loosely packed" and it is highly permeable.
  • Currently, commercially available on hybrid seed corn under the brand name of Early Plant.


• All coatings are environmentally safe.