Specific adjuvant for protective fungicide is launched in Brazil

DVA Agro has just launched Facility in Brazil, a specific adjuvant for the application of protective fungicides such as Mancozeb, Chlorothalonil and Copper derivatives. The company brings to the country a concept similar to those used in the United States, where an adjuvant is developed for each type of application. “Culturally, producers are more accustomed to using lower-priced products for any type of application. However, technologies and high investment in R&D have helped us show producers new, more assertive tools”, highlights Bruno Francischelli, marketing coordinator.

The novelty comes in line with the constant growth in the adoption of protective fungicides by producers, mainly because they are working more on resistance management. The professional explains that within the producer's application cost, the adjuvant is the small part. “So, many don’t care as much about whether it’s the right product, whether it brings real benefits or not. Our path is just the opposite. The cost of the adjuvant is cheaper, but the cost of the pesticide is high. If I improve the application, I get more results and better use of the agrochemical. A well-positioned adjuvant does not deliver results, it causes the pesticide for which it was developed to deliver more”, explains Francischelli.

Long-term protection

When we talk about protective fungicide, the name already says, it is protective, so the longer it stays in the crop, the greater the residual effect and the protection is prolonged. The Facility, according to Natália Gonçalves, global leader of adjuvants at DVA Group, has a glue effect on the plant leaf, in addition to forming small droplets when spraying.

“For a protective fungicide, the ideal is for many drops to form during spraying and for them to spread and cover the entire leaf. Facility promotes the formation of small, dense droplets, which guarantees coverage of the entire application area by the spray, including in the shallows where the disease is most prevalent. Furthermore, the drop in the surface tension of the mixture must be controlled at an optimal level of application to ensure only local spread, so that the fungal spores do not have an easy time spreading and proliferating”, explains the professional.

When misused or poorly chosen, an adjuvant can harm the crop. Natália says that in this type of application, a large drop that spreads across the entire leaf can even be harmful for control, as the drop will spread the fungicide, but can also spread the disease in question.

With this specific mode of action, including for Mancozeb, the Facility, in the company's field research carried out in Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina, achieved an increase of over 10% in soybean productivity when compared to control and common market adjuvants.

Film effect without clogging

The Facility is recommended for multi-crops, very effective for those with a lot of foliage, such as soybeans, for example. “When we apply the fungicide to the oilseed, it is completely closed and the fungus occurs mainly in the lower part where the humidity is higher. Getting the droplet to reach this lower part is more difficult, so our adjuvant comes and changes the rheology of the spray solution and promotes the fall of finer, denser drops with an anti-drift system”, says the leader.

Furthermore, the product forms a film. “It has a glue system that only works when the spray mixture dries on the leaves, forming a polymeric film on them. This film is what keeps the protective fungicide in the crop for longer and also prevents it from being washed away by rain”, says Natália.

But, as the Facility sticks to the sheet and not to the spray system, what would cause clogging of nozzles and filters? The professional states that this does not happen because the adjuvant system is controlled so that polymerization only occurs when the application water is evaporated. “When in water, that is, during the spraying of the mixture, the Facility contains monomers in solution that tend to surround and protect the fungicide from interaction with the nozzles, filters and other chemicals in the mixture”, she reports.

Therefore, it is an excellent partner to ensure mixture compatibility and machine cleanliness during application. “The reaction between the monomers to form the polymer only occurs when the water is evaporated, that is, after the drop hits the sheet. Therefore, the formation of the film and glue system only occurs when the spray solution reaches the target”, he points out.

The correct choice of adjuvant is essential for good production and the sustainability of the activity. “I see many adjuvants poorly positioned on the market, simply due to companies’ commercial appeal, including adjuvants that reduce the effectiveness of products. In the short term, what the farmer observes is simply the ease of application, that is, no clogging of nozzles, filters and simplification of machine cleaning. However, the bill may arrive at the end of the harvest with lower productivity”, points out Natália.