Advantages of using adjuvants in spray mixture

Within agriculture, the spraying of pesticides carried out without technical criteria is the activity that causes the farmer to suffer the greatest losses and, often, the need for rework due to a poorly carried out operation. In sugarcane cultivation, an error in the application of pre-emergent herbicide makes subsequent powder application or picking activities necessary, increasing the final cost of the crop.

Polymers or adjuvants are substances that modify the physical-chemical structure of water, used to dilute herbicides during the application process. Water, as it has a molecular structure linked by hydrogen bonds, can cause difficulties when mixing products, as these bonds make it difficult for herbicide particles or molecules to enter, requiring constant agitation to do so.

Adjuvants, such as Tensor Max, from the Fertiláqua Group, have the ability to move water molecules away, facilitating agitation, as it provides fluidity characteristics, improving two fundamental characteristics when mixing products: Emulsification and Dispersion of molecules. and herbicide particles, improving the homogeneity of the mixture.

Furthermore, it is common for some active ingredients to have foam in the syrup, which makes operational issues difficult, as the tank overflows and loses the active ingredient. “A good adjuvant like Tensor Max has anti-foaming characteristics”, explains Paulo Rosa, Consultant at Fertiláqua.

 Furthermore, the Wetting, Adhesion and Spreading of drops over the plant surface must be observed, as the cuticle of plant leaves, being fatty or lipid in nature, has difficulty in contact with water in its natural state and with the herbicide. , which a good polymer like Tensor Max with these characteristics provides us.

As a last and perhaps main feature, the product corrects an error of all spray tips: the friction of water with the ceramic tip, which causes very fine droplets, close to the water vapor state, to be produced, which can lead to frequent and normal losses of up to 20% of our syrup. “By providing elasticity in the connection between water molecules and reducing this friction, it Standardizes Drops, and evaporation losses are reduced, observing an increase in deposition on the applied surface”, explains the consultant.