Pesticide Adjuvants Help Improve the Efficacy and the Performance of the Pesticide

 

Pesticide Adjuvants

Pesticide adjuvants are added in the pesticides to improve the performance of the pesticide, as well as to reduce product drifting, reduce foaming, and control acidity. This can include everything from wetter-spreaders to feeding stimulants. Moreover, pesticide adjuvants are used to enhance the efficacy of pesticides and other compounds that kill or control unwanted pests commonly found in or around crops. Pesticide adjuvants are either applied directly to the crop or are sprayed on the surrounding soil.

Adjuvants and surfactants are spray solution additives, and are considered to improve the performance of the spray mixture. Surfactants are a type of adjuvant designed to improve the sticking, spreading, absorbing, emulsifying/dispersing, and/or pest-penetrating properties of the spray mixture. Pesticide adjuvants, specifically surfactants, improve the effectiveness of post-emergence pesticides.

Moreover, pesticide adjuvants offer several advantages such as drift reduction, increased safety and effectiveness, and better mixing and handling. Growing crop damage due to insects and other pests is increasing consumption of pesticides worldwide. This, in turn, is expected to increase the demand for pesticide adjuvants. More than 1 billion pounds of pesticides are used in the United State each year and around 5.6 billion pounds are used worldwide, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information.

Furthermore, with the increasing demand for food due to the increasing population worldwide, the demand for pesticide adjuvants is also increasing at a rapid pace. For instance, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, overall food production needs to increase by 70% from 2005/07 to 2050 to sustain a population of 9.1 billion. Many pesticides require the addition of an adjuvant, and some do not. A 30% to 50% reduction in pest control can be expected when applying herbicides, insecticides, or fungicides without the recommended adjunct. However, adjuvants can damage a plant if the adjuvant is used at very high concentration or if the wrong adjuvant is used.

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