ADAMA – Adjuvants (ADAMA MCW EOS®)
What are adjuvants?
In agriculture, chemicals are often used to protect crops and improve yield. Adjuvants are substances added to pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and other agricultural chemicals to enhance their effectiveness. They don't have pesticidal properties themselves, but improve the performance and application of the active ingredients in these types of products. Some types of adjuvants can have some use as a standalone product, but are typically either included in the formulation of products or manufactured to be mixed with crop protection chemicals prior to application.
There are three broad categories of agricultural adjuvants. These include:
- Surfactants: Activator agents that enhance performance by increasing the surface contact and leaf penetration and reducing runoff. Surfactants may be spreaders, emulsifiers, stickers or wetting agents.
- Oil-based: Oil-based adjuvants slow the drying period of products to increase absorption and can also improve absorption. These adjuvants may also offer standalone protection as they coat unwanted pests and spores. Most crop oils have a petroleum oil base, though some are vegetable oil based.
- Spray: Using spray adjuvants allows the modification of the physical characteristics of the spray solution in some way, for example a buffering agent will lower pH to stabilise a product, while a drift control agent will increase droplet size.
How do adjuvants help farmers?
There are several ways in which adjuvants can be helpful to farmers. Ultimately, the aim of the use of adjuvants is to improve the efficacy of chemical products intended to maximise crop yield and quality. The correct use of adjuvants can result in cost saving, as less chemical products may be required to gain the desired result. The use of less chemicals can also further protect against resistance and prevent more drastic pest control measures being required in the future. Here are just some of the ways that adjuvants are helpful to farmers:
- Enhanced Penetration: Adjuvants can help active ingredients penetrate plant surfaces more effectively, ensuring better absorption and efficacy. This is particularly useful for herbicides, which need to be absorbed by weeds to be effective.
- Improved Coverage: Some adjuvants help spray solutions spread evenly over the target surface, ensuring more uniform coverage. This is crucial for effective pest control as it ensures that no areas are missed, reducing the chances of resistance development.
- Reduced Drift: Adjuvants can help reduce spray drift, which is when the pesticide is carried away by wind to unintended areas. Drift control agents can increase droplet size or modify spray patterns, keeping the pesticide closer to the target area and minimising environmental impact.
- Sticker Properties: Adjuvants with sticker properties help the pesticide adhere better to the plant surface, preventing runoff and increasing the duration of effectiveness. This is especially important for pesticides applied to leaves, where rain or irrigation could wash them away.
- Compatibility: Adjuvants can improve the compatibility of different chemicals mixed together in the spray tank. They can prevent the active ingredients from separating or forming clumps, ensuring a homogenous mixture and consistent application.
- Water Conditioners: In areas with hard water or water high in minerals, adjuvants can act as water conditioners, preventing the precipitation of pesticides or other chemicals in the spray tank. This ensures that the active ingredients remain in solution and are effectively delivered to the target.
- Reduced Volatility: Some adjuvants help reduce the volatility of certain pesticides, minimising the amount that evaporates into the air after application. This not only improves efficacy but also reduces the risk of off-target effects and environmental contamination.
It is obvious that adjuvants play a crucial role in maximising the effectiveness of agricultural chemicals while minimising their environmental impact, and ensuring safe and efficient application.
Best practices for adjuvant use in agriculture
As regulatory standards evolve, there's ongoing research into the safety and efficacy of adjuvants to meet these standards. Researchers develop guidelines and best practices for adjuvant use based on sound scientific evidence and regulatory requirements.
Advances in formulation technologies are enabling the development of adjuvants with improved stability, compatibility, and performance characteristics. Researchers are exploring novel formulations such as nano-emulsions, microencapsulation, and smart delivery systems for controlled release of adjuvants.
Overall, research on adjuvants is multidisciplinary, involving fields such as chemistry, biology, agronomy, and environmental science. By continually improving the understanding of adjuvant properties and their interactions with pesticides and crops, researchers aim to optimise their use for sustainable and effective pest management in agriculture.
In South Africa, adjuvants may be incorporated into a formulation during the manufacturing process, or be added to a spray tank prior to application. They may not contain inert ingredients that are already prohibited. Registration of the product is required when the adjuvant is a separate or standalone product. Labelling of adjuvants is similar to that of agricultural remedies in general and must contain all the relevant data, including details of the active constituent and a declaration of the full formulation composition.
The potential environmental impact and toxicity of the product is required and details of allergenic potential and safety requirements must be stated clearly on all product information leaflets or labels. Where the addition of an adjuvant may have an implication on maximum residual levels, this must also be noted.
For farmers making use of adjuvants in their agricultural practices, best practice includes ensuring that the product used is fit for purpose, that it is used exactly according to the manufacturer’s instructions, and ensuring that all the necessary environmental and personal safety precautions are taken when storing, using, and disposing of any unused product and its packaging.
There's a growing emphasis on developing adjuvants that are more environmentally friendly, such as those with lower toxicity and reduced potential for environmental persistence. Researchers are exploring natural and biodegradable adjuvant materials as alternatives to synthetic ones.
Additionally, thought should be given to how to apply these products most precisely. With the rise of precision agriculture technologies, adjuvants used should, where possible, be tailored to specific application methods and equipment. This includes optimising adjuvant chemicals used in agriculture for use with drones, autonomous machinery, and variable rate application systems.
Understanding the interactions or potential interactions of different adjuvants and active ingredients in pesticides, herbicides and fungicides optimises adjuvant combinations for maximum efficacy while minimising the risk of unintended effects such as phytotoxicity.
Adjuvants that are shown to assist in Resistance Management should always be considered. Where adjuvants can be used strategically to manage pesticide resistance in weeds, insects, and pathogens they can enhance the efficacy of lower pesticide doses, reducing the selection pressure for resistance development.
The agricultural sector should understand how adjuvants influence crop physiology beyond their role in pesticide application. This includes exploring adjuvant effects on plant stress tolerance, nutrient uptake, and overall plant health.
ADAMA’s MCW EOS®
In the ADAMA range, MCW EOS® is one such adjuvant. This highly refined paraffinic food grade white mineral oil adjuvant improves the effectiveness of a range of pesticides.
While some paraffin oils act as a standalone treatment, for example, as insecticides coating larvae and eggs in a film or as fungicides, preventing the transmission of diseases or spores to treated plants, MCW EOS® can be diluted and mixed with other products to enhance their efficacy.
While all mineral oils can be harmful, especially if inhaled, the product itself has an extremely low environmental impact if used according to the manufacturer's guidelines. The barrier these oils create prevent and treat any threats to crops while also being able to safely biodegrade over time. They also do not cause any resistance, ensuring their long-term effectiveness.
For maximum efficacy, the product should be diluted as described, and evenly distributed to ensure good coverage. As a food grade quality product, MCW EOS® does not have contaminants that may react to sunlight and cause phytotoxicity (“burning” of plants).
As an adjuvant, MCW EOS® works alongside other pesticides and fungicides to provide superior protection against harmful pests.
Like other oil-based types of adjuvant in agriculture, careful storage, application, and use is imperative to safeguard against harm. The product may be fatal if it is swallowed or enters the airways. It is harmful if inhaled and may cause allergic skin reactions on contact. Protective clothing including masks, eye protection and gloves should be worn when working with MCW EOS® and the containers should be disposed of at an approved waste disposal facility.
