Adjuvant Formulation for Low-Volume Spray Drift and Retention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current agricultural spray application methods face inefficiencies such as off-target losses, poor retention and coverage on leaf surfaces, and high environmental impact due to high spray volumes and drift, particularly at low spray volumes, which affect biological efficacy and environmental sustainability.
Innovation Solution
A combination of specific drift-reducing ingredients, rain-fast additives, spreading agents, and uptake enhancers in adjuvant formulations that increase droplet size and retention on leaf surfaces, reducing drift and wash-off while maintaining biological efficacy at low spray volumes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If high spray volumes are used, then coverage and retention on leaf surfaces improve, but off-target drift losses and environmental impact increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical-chemical parameters of the spray droplets by incorporating adjuvant formulations that modify droplet size distribution, surface tension, and viscosity. These parameter changes enable droplets to maintain larger effective size (reducing drift) while improving wetting and retention properties on leaf surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses composite adjuvant formulations combining multiple ingredients including surfactants, spreaders, stickers, and drift-reducing agents. These composite materials work synergistically to achieve both reduced drift and improved retention without requiring high spray volumes.
2Loss of substance
If spray volumes are reduced to decrease environmental impact, then drift and energy consumption decrease, but coverage and biological efficacy worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The adjuvant formulations modify key parameters of the spray solution including surface tension, viscosity, and droplet evaporation rates. These changes allow low-volume sprays to maintain adequate coverage and biological efficacy by improving droplet spreadability and retention on target surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjuvant formulation acts as an intermediary substance that enhances the performance of the active ingredient at low application rates. It mediates between the spray application system and the target plant surface, improving wetting, coverage, and retention to compensate for reduced spray volume.
3Ease of operation
If conventional spray application is used, then application simplicity is maintained, but wash-off by rainfall and poor uptake into plants occur
Solution Approach 1:
The adjuvant formulation incorporates multiple functional ingredients including stickers and rainfastness agents that work together to anchor the active ingredient to the plant surface. This composite approach maintains application simplicity while significantly improving resistance to wash-off by rainfall.
Solution Approach 2:
The formulation changes the adhesive and cohesive parameters of the spray solution through surfactants and polymers. These parameter changes enhance the bonding between droplets and leaf surfaces, improving uptake and rainfastness without complicating the application process.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The formulations provide improved coverage, uptake, and rainfastness at low spray volumes, reducing environmental impact and maintaining biological efficacy, even on hard-to-wet surfaces, with reduced foam production and lower costs.
Implementation Method 1
formulations containing spreading agents in combination with specific drift reduction agents at specific concentrations... combination of materials that can be formulated as an adjuvant formulation... increase the wetting, coverage and uptake
Implementation Method 2
reduce off-target drift, increase the retention on leaves... specific drift reduction agents at specific concentrations... reduce off-target losses occurring from drift of fine spray droplets
Implementation Method 3
formulations containing spreading agents... increase the wetting, coverage and uptake... increase spreading on the leaf surface
Implementation Method 4
formulations containing uptake enhancers... increase the wetting, coverage and uptake... poor uptake of active ingredients into the target plants
Implementation Method 5
formulations containing rain-fast additives... reduce the wash-off by rainfall... increase the retention on leaves
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to agricultural adjuvant compositions for tank-mixture with crop protection products: their use for foliar application; their use at low spray volumes; their use by unmanned aerial systems (UAS), unmanned guided vehicles (UGV), and tractor mounted boom sprayers fitted with conventional nozzles but also pulse width modulation spray nozzles or rotating disc droplet applicators; and their application for controlling agricultural pests, weeds or diseases, in particular on waxy leaves.