Purchasing a Pesticide:

Pesticide Action, Formulations,

and Adjuvants
Montana State University
Pesticide Safety Education Program

2008
 What is a formulation?
How a pesticide is packaged.
Contains:
– Active Ingredient
– Inert Ingredient
 Active Ingredients
Has the pesticidal effect
Its on the label
Properties of the a.i. influence the
Formulation
A.I. derived from:
– Plants Nicotine, Pyrethrum, and Rotenone
– Minerals Copper, and Sulfur
– Microbes. Bacillus thuringiensis, Metarhizium anisopliae
 Inert Ingredients
“Inactive”
ingredients mixed with a.i. To make
formulation easier to handle or store.
Toxic or non-toxic
 Can you get the same reaction
from the same active ingredients
regardless of inert ingredients?
NO, Inert Ingredients are often patented
and are only known to the company.
Many times this is the difference between
a product working effectively and not at all.
BANDED, SEED, FOLIAR applications all
different yet the same!
 Types of Formulations
Liquid (Wet)
– Mixed with water / oils / diesel fuel /
kerosene
– More easily absorbed
Dry
– More easily inhaled
 Liquid Formulations (Wet)
EC –emulsifiable concentrate
S – soluble
Flowables
ULV – ultra low volume (approach 100%
active ingredient)
 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
 Emulsified Concentrates
(1 or more petroleum based solvents)

ADVANTAGES
– ☺ Little agitation required. Won’t settle out when equipment
is turned off. Does not plug equipment
– ☺ 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.
- May cause pitting of painted finishes, and may be corrosive
 Flowable
ADVANTAGES
☺ Easy to handle and apply
☺ Seldom clogs nozzles. Finer ground
carrier.
DISADVANTAGES
May leave visible residue.
Requires agitation
 Dry Formulations
WP – Wettable powder
F or DF – Dry Flowable
WDG – Water Dispersible Granule
D -Dust
Baits P or G – Pellets or Granules
 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.
 Granules or Pellets
ADVANTAGES
– ☺ Ready to Use (RTU); no mixing
– ☺ Low drift hazard as particles settle quickly.
– ☺ In most cases, don’t need to mix with water
first.
DISADVANTAGES
– May need to be incorporated into the soil.
– Dust from application equipment might present
hazard to applicator.
– May need to be activated by moisture
– Hazardous to some non-targets (birds)
– Easy to over apply
Effects of Different Formulations
Formulation Hazards Phytox Equipment Agitate
M or ME Dermal Safe ok Yes
G or P Inhale Safe NA NA
D Inhale Safe NA NA
S Dermal Safe Non-abrasive No
F or FL Dermal Maybe abrasive Yes
EC Dermal Maybe Seals, gaskets No
WP Inhale Safe abrasive Yes
 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
 Surfactants

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
%)
 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
 Utility

Acidifiers -neutralize alkaline solutions & lower pH.

Buffering agents -stabilize the pH of spray solutions.
Anti-foaming agents
Compatibility agents
Drift control agents
Emulsification aids
Suspension aids -added to a suspension in order to
keep pesticide particles dispersed or to resuspend
particles.
 What formulation is this?
FLOWABLE
DERMAL ABSORPTION

Examples:
Bravo 720 F fungicide
Furadan 4 F insecticide
 Question #2
What formulation is this?
Powdered Hand Soap
Wettable Powder
Easily Inhaled

Examples:
Sevin 50 W insecticide
Kerb 50 W herbicide
Sniper 50 W insecticide
Pesticide Properties Important to
Know Prior to Purchase
Formulation
Adjuvants to use with this pesticide
Other properties?
 What to know when
purchasing a Herbicide
#1) Application Method
– Foliar Applied
Plant contact
– Soil Applied
Soil contact
– Broadcast
Entire area
– Spot
Specified area
 What to know when
purchasing a Herbicide
#2) Application Timing
– Preemergence
Prior to seed
germination
– Postemergence
After seed germination
and active growth
– Post-directed
Directed to particular
portion of plant once
emerged and growing
Mode of Action
Mechanism of Activity
– Mode of action (MOA)

How it kills
 Herbicide Modes of Action
Why is this important?
1. Plant Growth Regulation
2. Photosynthesis Inhibitors
3. Photosynthetic Pigment Inhibitors
4. Plant Growth Inhibitors
5. Amino Acid Synthesis Inhibition
6. Lipid Biosynthesis Inhibition
7. Cell Membrane Disruption
8. Unclassified Activity
Plant Growth Regulation
Examples include:
– 2,4-D
– Dicamba
– Picloram
– Clopyralid
– Triclopyr
 Plant Growth Regulation
Mimics natural plant hormone –
Auxins.
Results in an imbalance of this growth
regulating hormone.
Cells of the leaf vein rapidly divide while cells
between the veins do not.
Cell division and respiration increase, while
photosynthesis does not.
Common Leaf Symptoms from PGR
Exposure

normal

cupped and blistered from

PGR exposure
Foliar PGR Application

short internode

accumulation
In new growth
Amino Acid Synthesis Inhibition
Imidazolinones Sulfonylureas
– Arsenal – Escort
– Plateau – Oust
– Sahara – Telar
– Top Site

Glyphosate
– Roundup
Amino Acid Synthesis Inhibition

Amino Acids = life!!

Specific to plant AAs only
Visual results are the result of secondary
injury
– the injury as the beginning of a chain of
events that take place in the plant.
– symptoms take time to develop – it is not an
immediate process.
Amino Acid Synthesis Inhibition
Amino Acid Synthesis Inhibition
What are you going to see visually?
– Initially there will be a general yellowing of the
treated plants.
– After 5 to 10 days, chlorosis results in
necrosis.
 Plateau or Escort Injury Symptoms

Stunting

Chlorosis of
youngest tissue
 Glyphosate (Roundup) Drift

chlorosis
shortened
internodes

stem proliferation
When purchasing pesticides know:

Formulation
Adjuvants
How to use pesticide
Pest Timing
Mode of Action
 Contact:
Montana State University
Pesticide Safety Education Program

www.pesticides.montana.edu