Pesticide Formulations and

Adjuvants

Montana State University

Pesticide Safety Education Program
 What is a formulation?
How a pesticide is packaged.
Contains:
– Active Ingredient
– Inert Ingredient
 Active Ingredients
Has the pesticidal effect
Its on the label
Properties of the a.i. influences the type of
formulation
 Inert Ingredients
“Inactive”
ingredients mixed with a.i. To make
formulation easier to handle or store.
Toxic or non-toxic
 Can you get the same reaction
from the same active ingredients
regardless of inert ingredients?
NO, Inert Ingredients are often patented
and are only known to the company.
Many times this is the difference between
a product working effectively and not at all.
BANDED, SEED, FOLIAR applications all
different yet the same!
 Types of Formulations
Wet
– More easily absorbed
Dry
– More easily inhaled
 Liquid Formulations (Wet)
EC –emulsifiable concentrate
S – soluble
M or ME – Micro-Encapsulated
ULV – ultra low volume
 Soluble
Advantage:
– ☺ Will not separate or settle out when
mixed with water.
– ☺ Not as harmful to non-target plants
and animals
Disadvantage:
– Not many disadvantages.
– Readily absorbs into skin
 Emulsified Concentrates
ADVANTAGES
– ☺ Little agitation required. Won’t settle out when equipment
is turned off.
– ☺ Relatively non-abrasive.
– ☺ Easy to handle, store and transport
DISADVANTAGES
– Because of the solvents and emulsifiers, EC’s are a hazard
to non-target plants and animals.
– Easily absorbed through skin of plants and humans.
– Solvents may cause rubber or plastic hoses & gaskets to
deteriorate.
 Dry Formulations
WP – Wettable powder
F or DF – Dry Flowable
WDG – Water Dispersible Granule
D -Dust
P or G – Pellets or Granules
 Wettable Powders
ADVANTAGES
– ☺ Easy to store & transport. Smaller packaging. Won’t
freeze.
– ☺ Less inert ingredients in formulation.
– ☺ Lower toxicity to plants than liquid formulations.
– The inert ingredients, clay or talc, are generally harmless to
plants
DISADVANTAGES
– Inhalation hazard when pouring and mixing. It’s dry!
– Needs vigorous & constant agitation in the spray tank.
– Abrasive to many pumps and nozzles.
 Flowable
ADVANTAGES
☺ Easy to handle and apply
☺ Seldom clogs nozzles. Finer ground
carrier.
DISADVANTAGES
May leave visible residue.
Requires agitation
 Granules or Pellets
ADVANTAGES
– ☺ Ready to Use (RTU); no mixing
– ☺ Low drift hazard as particles settle quickly.
– ☺ In most cases, don’t need to mix with water
first.
DISADVANTAGES
– May need to be incorporated into the soil.
– Dust from application equipment might present
hazard to applicator.
– Easy to over apply
Effects of Different Formulations
Formulations Hazards Phytox Equipment Agitate Compactable

M or ME Dermal Safe ok Yes Fair

G or P Inhale Safe NA NA NA
D Inhale Safe NA NA NA
S Dermal Safe Non-abrasive No Fair
F or FL Dermal Maybe abrasive Yes Fair
EC Dermal Maybe Seals, gaskets No Fair
WP Inhale Safe abrasive Yes High
Testing Compatibility Using 1 qt jar
Wear your PPE!
Add to jar in same proportions as you use in the field ( 1
teaspoon = 1 quart of pesticide added to 50 gallons of water).
Add half of diluent to jar then add pesticide according to
plan.
Add Wettable & other powders & Water-dispersible granules
Agitate and add remaining diluent
Add the Liquid products, such as solutions, surfactants and
flowables.
Add Emulsifiable concentrates last.
Shake jar vigorously and feel sides of jar for heat. Check for
lumps, scum and clumps
 continued
Let the jar sit for 5 minutes.
Check for any flakes, sludge, gels or other
precipitants.
Also see if there is any separation or layering, or
small oil particles in solution.
If separate layers are formed after sitting up to 30
minutes but can be resuspended by shaking,
application may be possible but make sure you
have agitation in the sprayer.
If there is layering, an emulsifiable concentrate
will normally go to the top. Wettable powders will
either settle to the bottom or float on top.
 Interaction problems with
combining Formulations
Additive effects
Synergistic responses
Antagonism
Enhancement
 Additive Effect
SAVES TIME WITH NO CHANGE IN
EFFECT!
Ease of mixing
Reduces # of field passes
Example: root absorbed herbicide with a
foliar absorbed or Tordon with Escort
 Synergistic Response
Confused with Additive effects
Greater response when mixed.
True interaction between chemicals
Reduced rates often the result
 Antagonism
Less control when 2 or more chemicals
are mixed
May also increase phytotoxicity
– Example: mixing of some grass and
broadleaf herbicides (Diclofop and 2,4-D)
 Enhancement
When a pesticide is mixed with an additive
to provide greater response.
– Example: adjuvants
 Adjuvants
Additives that are added to a spray
solution in order to enhance or modify
the performance of the spray mixture.
#1 - Surfactants/wetting agents
#2 - Oils
#3 - Fertilizers
#4 - Utility
 #1 - Surfactants

A broad category of adjuvants that

facilitate and enhance the absorbing,
emulsifying, dispersing, spreading,
sticking, wetting and penetrating
properties of pesticides.
Some pesticides like Roundup Pro
already have surfactants added. (14.5
%)
 Why Surfactants
Because of the high surface tension of
water, spray mixture droplets maintain
their roundness and can sit on the leaf
hairs or leaf surface without much of
the mixture actually contacting the leaf.
Surfactants reduce angle and promote
more absorption
 Classes of Surfactants/Wetting
Agents

#1a - Nonionic Surfactants (no charge)

– Reduces surface tension
– Improves spreading, sticking and herbicide uptake
– All purpose
#1b - Silicone compounds (Silicone based)
– More reduction in surface tension.
– Spread more than conventional surfactants
– Maximum rainfastness due to increased
absorption.
– Can usually use at lower rates
 #2 - Oils
Crop Oil Concentrates (COC)
– Blend of paraffin based petroleum oil and
surfactants
– Used primarily with grass herbicides
Esterified Seed Oils (ESO) often referred as
MSO
– Produced by reacting fatty acids from seed
oils(corn, soybean, canola) with an alcohol to
form an ester
– All purpose type of surfactant
 #3 - Fertilizers -(Nitrogen-
surfactant Blends)
Improves herbicide uptake with hard to-kill
weeds
Neutralizes or gives hard water mineral
ions something to bind to instead of the
herbicide.
Used primarily with broadleaf herbicides.
 #4 - Utility

Acidifiers -neutralize alkaline solutions & lower pH.

Buffering agents -stabilize the pH of spray solutions.
Anti-foaming agents
Compatibility agents
Drift control agents
Emulsification aids
Suspension aids -added to a suspension in order to
keep pesticide particles dispersed or to resuspend
particles.
 Tips continued
Costs
– Generally, non-ionic surfactants and crop oil
concentrates are the least expensive
– Nitrogen surfactants, esterified crop oils,
organosilicones (most expensive)

What conditions follow an application?

– Max rainfastness: esterified seed oils, organo-
silicones, nitrogen surfactants
– Not all surfactants have the same amount of
rainfastness
 What formulation is this?
FLOWABLE
DERMAL ABSORPTION

Examples:
Bravo 720 F fungicide
Furadan 4 F insecticide
 Question #2
What formulation is this?
Powdered Hand Soap
Wettable Powder
Easily Inhaled

Examples:
Sevin 50 W insecticide
Kerb 50 W herbicide
Sniper 50 W insecticide
 READ THE LABEL
This will give you an idea of what type of
adjuvant if any should be used.
Questions