High lint cotton seeds make seed flow difficult at time of planting and the seed distribution in the field is affected and requiring not only high quantities of seeds but also slow and expensive operations, such as looping. Seed encapsulation contributed to cost reduction and seeds were easier to sow. The present work evaluated different products which could be used as cotton seed encapsulating agents, as well as testing encapsulation effects, with and without fungicide, on seed germination. Three cotton seed lots of cv. IAC-20, harvested in 94/95, were used as raw material for 10 treatments in an experiment having seeds: mechanically delinted; chemically delinted; mechanically delinted seeds encapsulated with: gypsum and bentonite; with Sepiret 4015 and with Sepiret 6182, all of them with and without fungicide. Data analysis and results lead to the conclusion that it is feasable to encapsulate cotton seeds, the most favorable products being gypsum + bentonite and Sepiret 6182; the use of fungicides is beneficial to the seeds.
Gossypium hirsutum; encapsulation; seed; quality