There are many aspects of farming that growers cannot control. Soaring prices, fuel and fertilizer supplies and global commodity markets are a few that come to mind.
Fortunately, there are aspects to farming over which you do have control, where you can influence the results achieved by following a few simple guidelines. One such example is the performance of your spray mixtures.
The old misconception that all adjuvants essentially do the same thing often leads to disappointing results. This is totally avoidable by understanding that adjuvants are complex formulations, often designed to perform a certain job in defined conditions.
Choosing the right adjuvant
When selecting the right adjuvant for the situation, there are a few basic questions to ask yourself:
What do the mix partner label or labels prescribe? More than often pesticides are quite prescriptive in this regard. Non-ionic surfactants, a good quality methylated seed oil or crop oil concentrate are common recommendations.
What is the main problem to be addressed? Quite often when spray mixtures are applied to control different target groups like weeds and fungal diseases, their adjuvant requirements may differ. For example, the herbicide may require rapid penetration, whereas the fungicide may require spreading and for the product be active on the surface of the leaf. In such cases, it may be better to split the application and to use a suitable adjuvant for each product type.
What does the situation require? Typical compromising aspects to consider when spraying are heavy dew, complex brews containing liquid and solid formulations, water quality, or features of the target weed spectrum like growth stage and waxiness of leaf surfaces. Make sure to select an adjuvant that will do the job in challenging conditions.
Which adjuvant has the preferred combination of attributes? Very few modern adjuvants consist of a single type (e.g. crop oil) or perform a single function. More typically they are a combination of types (e.g. a mineral oil plus non-ionic surfactants), or designed to be a wetter, spreader, penetrant and drift reduction agent at the same time. Rather than relying on a single do-it-all adjuvant, you now have the luxury of selecting the adjuvant with the preferred combination of attributes for every job.
Adjuvants to consider
Below are some examples of different adjuvants by Agrion Crop Solutions, and how they could be applied in specific situations for better results.
Kwickin Spray Adjuvant
Kwickin is a versatile adjuvant that contains a blend of ethyl and methyl esters of canola oil and non-ionic surfactants. It is widely used in post-emergent situations with herbicides, insecticides, defoliants and desiccants. In addition to its ability to promote the uptake of active ingredients through waxy leaf cuticles, it is also a superb wetter, spreader and minimizer of spray drift.
Plantocrop Spray Adjuvant
For growers in Western Australia not familiar with Kwickin, you can access the same versatility with Plantocrop. Plantocrop is also a blend of ethyl and methyl esters of canola oil and non-ionic surfactants, with a similar use pattern to Kwickin.
Enhance
Enhance is a premium crop oil concentrate consisting of a highly refined paraffinic oil and non-ionic surfactants. It is designed to emulsify rapidly in water to improve penetration, wetting and spreading of a wide range of herbicides, desiccants and defoliants used for post-emergent spraying of crops.
Spreadwet 1000
Spreadwet 1000 is the go-to when the mix partner label calls for a non-ionic surfactant and has been synonymous with economy, efficacy and reliability in thousands of tank mixtures. It is the premium biodegradable wetter/spreader that is compatible with knockdown and selective herbicides.
Remember: the cost of the adjuvant is a fraction of the cost of the total spray mixture. Get the best results from expensive treatments by selecting the most appropriate adjuvant for the job.
This article was written by Agrion Crop Solutions for Seasons magazine.
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