The seed treatment is not genetic modification and not chemical; it uses bioelectrical signals to influence how genes express themselves without altering the DNA, aiming to give seedlings a stronger start that could last their entire growth cycle.

A leafy greens farmer reported that caterpillars did not eat one particular crop, which turned out to be the treated sample even though the farmer was not told which was treated and which was control.

Rainstick takes seeds and applies a specially tuned electric field similar to what happens during a thunderstorm, after which the treated seeds are shipped to producers to grow, creating a frictionless experience because farmers don't need to change any on-farm processes since the seeds were altered beforehand.

The treatment formula consists of three basic elements — frequency, waveform, and treatment duration — and with potentially 50,000 different frequencies and any waveform shape or duration, the solution space cannot be brute-forced, requiring methodical step-by-step testing to achieve the desired effect without unwanted effects.