Albert Barnes Commentary Joel 1:17

"The seeds rot under their clods; the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the grain is withered." — Joel 1:17 (ASV)

The seed is rotten under the clods - Not only was all to be cut off for the present, but, with it, all hope for the future. The scattered seed, as it lay, each under its clod known to God, was dried up, and so decayed. The granaries lay desolate; indeed, they were allowed to go to ruin, in hopelessness of any future harvest.