Pesticide Formulations and Adjuvants

1. Pesticide Formulations and Adjuvants Montana State University Pesticide Safety Education Program

2. What is a formulation? • How a pesticide is packaged. • Contains: • Active Ingredient • Inert Ingredient

3. Active Ingredients • Has the pesticide effect • Its on the label • Properties of the a.i. influences the type of formulation

4. Inert Ingredients • “Inactive” • ingredients mixed with a.i. To make formulation easier to handle or store. • Toxic or non-toxic

5. Types of Formulations • Wet • More easily absorbed • Dry • More easily inhaled

6. Liquid Formulations (Wet) • EC – emulsifiable concentrate • S – soluble

7. 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

8. 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.

9. Dry Formulations • WP – Wettable powder • F or DF – Dry Flowable • WDG – Water Dispersible Granule • D -Dust • P or G – Pellets or Granules • M or ME – Micro-Encapsulated

10. 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.

11. Flowable • ADVANTAGES • ☺ Easy to handle and apply • ☺ Seldom clogs nozzles. Finer ground carrier. • DISADVANTAGES • May leave visible residue. • Requires agitation

12. 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

13. Interaction problems with combining Formulations • Additive effects • Synergistic responses • Antagonism • Enhancement

14. 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 • Anti-foaming agents • Compatibility agents • Drift control agents • Emulsification aids • Suspension aids

15. #1 – Surfactants / Oils • 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 %)

16. 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

17. 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

18. What formulation is this? • FLOWABLE • DERMAL ABSORPTION Examples: Bravo 720 F fungicide Furadan 4 F insecticide

19. Question #2What formulation is this? • Powdered Hand Soap • Wettable Powder • Easily Inhaled Examples: Sevin 50 W insecticide Kerb 50 W herbicide Sniper 50 W insecticide

20. READ THE LABEL • This will give you an idea of what type of adjuvant if any should be used.

21. Questions

22. What is this?

23. Bhopal, India Disaster • Union Carbide Pesticide Manufacturing Plant • December 3rd, 1984 • 8,000 initial dead • 15,000 more within 10 years • 500,000 suffer injuries • water wells near the site show overall chemical contamination to be 500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health Organization. • cancer, genetic defects (birth defects), and liver and kidney damage.

24. Any Problems?

25. How does this relate to you • We drink well water • 50% of Montana Citizens drink well water • 95% of those living in agricultural communities • Restricted Use Applicators of Major Concern in Montana Ag. Areas • You are the greatest risk factor for your own health

30. Spill – What do we do? • Stepped Concerns • Safety • Control • Containment • Reporting • Cleanup • Have On Hand • Absorbent • Shovel • Bags • Emergency Contacts

31. How do we reduce risk? #1 – Mixing & Loading Locations #2 - Filling Tanks #3 – Read Label

32. Mixing/Loading Sites

33. Back Siphonage

34. Read Label

35. Proper Mixing and Storage

36. What factors are at play in groundwater contamination? #1 – Pesticide Factors -Persistence -Mobility -Rate #2 – Soil Factors -Texture/OM/Cracked Soil #3 – Site Conditions -Weather -Shallow Groundwater

37. RATE and Infiltration

38. Infiltration and Texture

39. Types of Soil Texture & Permeability

41. Adsorption to Organic Matter

42. Leaching Potential

43. Runoff Risk

44. Detected in Montana?

45. Picloram

46. What are variables are

47. Check your rates

48. Case Study – Tordon 1pt/A

49. Case Study – Tordon 2qt/A

50. Fish at risk as well!