Frequently Asked Questions About Adjuvants
Q. What is a surfactant?
A. A surfactant is one type of adjuvant that is used with pesticides to increase biological activity or modify the physical properties of a spray solution. Nonionic surfactants lower the surface tension of the spray droplet, allowing it to spread over the plant's leaves more effectively and penetrate the leaves' cuticles. Other types of adjuvants include crop oil concentrates, drift-control agents, deposition aids, fertilizer additives, spreader stickers and utility products.
Q. Why are there so many different types of adjuvants available?
A. Each adjuvant is produced to help pesticides achieve peak performance under various challenging environmental and water conditions. No one product can cover all these varying situations.
Q. Why don't manufacturers add adjuvants directly to the pesticides when they're produced?
A. With so many variable conditions and tank-mix options, it would be impossible to add all the right adjuvants to cover every situation. Even when some products don't recommend the use of adjuvants, hard water or challenging environmental conditions can make it advisable to add adjuvants to improve pesticide performance.
Q. What is the difference between the ingredient list on an adjuvant label and on a pesticide label?
A. Since adjuvants are not subject to the same EPA or other federal regulations that govern pesticides, manufacturers do not have to follow any standard guidelines when listing active ingredients or other components in their products. That's why it's important to know and trust the adjuvant manufacturer, so you can be assured of high-quality ingredients and formulations that are field-tested for top performance. The only true test of an adjuvant is the way it performs in the field under conditions like yours.
Q. What are the benefits of adding a drift-control adjuvant to the tank mix?
A. Using a drift-control agent helps you keep spray on target fields and avoid crop damage in adjacent fields. There also are several economic benefits to reducing drift, including protection against possible litigation that can occur if drifting spray injures another grower's fields or homeowner's property.
Q. Does it matter which drift-control/deposition aid is used with pesticides?
A. While most drift-control/deposition aids will help control drift, they may also alter the size and speed of spray droplets, affecting spray deposition. Only InterLock® and PowerLock®, AgriSolutions™ adjuvants, deliver the precise droplet size and speed necessary to penetrate the crop canopy for better overall plant coverage.
Q. What is the advantage of using Class Act® Next Generation and Alliance®, which include liquid ammonium sulfate (AMS), rather than dry AMS?
A. Class Act®NGTM and Alliance® are liquid formulations available in convenient-to-use mini-bulk and bulk systems. The AMS in both these products is pre-dissolved, making it faster to tank mix than dry AMS, which can take up to 30 minutes to completely dissolve in hard-water conditions, may plug spray nozzles or leave residue in tanks. Plus, weed kill is faster when Alliance or Class Act Next Generation is used with herbicides.
