Are you using a seed with a talc base treatment in a plateless seed meter?
Summary
Graphite usage is especially important when using treated corn seed in a planter equipped with finger-pickup seed meters.
Some newer seed treatments come from the seed supplier with talc applied to the seed to absorb the moisture when the seed treatment is applied. It is still important to follow the operator's manual recommendation as shown below:
Finger Pickup Meter: 1 tablespoon of graphite per bushel. A good indication of the correct usage is to inspect the seed meter parts for seed treatment buildup. If the seed treatment is building up on fingers or backing plate then more graphite should be used.
