Package-mix agricultural chemical compositions having improved stability

Abstract

A high-concentration mixed composition (package-mixcomposition) is proposed, which contains water-soluble pesticides or plant growth regulators, such as the salt of the herbicide glyphosate, and water-insoluble solid pesticides or plant growth regulators, such as the herbicide C Fluflufenafil. The water-soluble pesticide or plant growth regulator is dissolved in the continuous water phase of the composition, while the solid particles of the water-insoluble pesticide or plant growth regulator are suspended in the water phase. These solid particles, individually or in clusters, are closely surrounded by a barrier layer containing one or two water-immiscible organic solvents or emulsifiers with a hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) of not greater than about 15. The composition may optionally additionally contain a viscosity modifier, such as colloidal hydrophilic silica, dispersed in the aqueous phase. The composition of the present invention exhibits improved inhibition of settling of solid particles and / or increased inhibition of chemical degradation of water-insoluble pesticides or plant growth regulators compared to other similar compositions that do not contain a barrier layer or organic solvent.

Description

field of invention [0001] This invention relates to pesticide and / or plant growth regulator compositions for use in agriculture and related industries. More particularly, the present invention relates to liquid high concentration compositions containing at least two active ingredients. One of the active ingredients is water soluble and the other is substantially water insoluble. The liquid high-concentration composition is suitable for application to plants or soil after being diluted with water. Active ingredients that may be formulated into compositions of the present invention include pesticides such as herbicides, algicides, fungicides, bactericides, viricides, insecticides, acaricides, nematicides and molluscicides , and plant growth regulators. Background of the invention [0002] For various purposes in agriculture and related industries, it is often desirable to simultaneously apply two or more biologically active compounds, each of which is...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

However, if this mixture composition is provided in liquid form, then two problems have to be overcome

[0018] The first problem is that suspensions of flufenazil microparticles in aqueous solutions of glyphosate salts are physically unstable, and in particular such suspensions have a tendency to settle due to the high specific gravity (20 °C is 1.51)

[0019] The second issue is that flufenazim has been found to chemically degrade when exposed to high concentrations of saline solutions such as phosphine salt for prolonged periods of time