SEDL / STP / STP1268-EB / STP16041S

Superior Multipurpose Adjuvant System for Rainfastness and UV Protection

Narayanan, KS
Research Fellow, Agricultural Products, International Specialty Products, Wayne, NJ

Ianniello, RM
Vice President, Research and Development, Stephens Scientific, Riverdale, NJ

Pages: 14    Published: Jan 1996

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Abstract

Many pesticides of both synthetic and biological origin undergo UV-induced photodegradation, resulting in reduced efficacy. Efficacy can also be reduced by rain washoff of the active ingredient. A tank mix additive (adjuvant) which functions as a UV protectant and rainfast agent would provide improved pest control for problematic a.i.'s. Adjuvant systems which could be directly incorporated into the formulated pesticide, will provide a superior, value added product. Agrimax^™ 3³ (International Specialty Products) is a proprietary, multipurpose adjuvant composition designed to offer rainfastness for pesticides. It is composed of pyrrolidone-based solvents, surfactants, and water insoluble polymers microdispersed in aqueous medium. The composition can be diluted in all proportions without phase separation. A number of water insoluble UV protectants (Table 1) have been solubilized in Agrimax 3 at levels approaching 30% (w/w). Some of these systems produced stable emulsions on dilution with water, with particle size in the 0.02 μm – 2.0 μm range. Such systems can be used for UV protection. These adjuvants have been successfully incorporated into several active pesticides via lyophilization to yield a rainfast product. In the UV protecting adjuvants described here, Agrimax 3 acts as a carrier for the hydrophobic UV protecting molecules. The spectral data for the UV protectants, the stability of the adjuvant compositions are discussed. A physico-chemical model for the total adjuvant system is presented.