Surfactants in Agriculture

MARIANO J. L. CASTRO, CARLOS OJEDA, ALICIA FERNÁNDEZ CIRELLI

Environmental Chemistry for a Sustainable World, Volume 3 title: Green Materials for Energy, Products and Pollutant Management

Springer

Año: 2013; p. 287 - 333

Adjuvants usually improve pesticide efficiency by multiple mechanisms. Increasing the foliar uptake of active ingredients is of particular importance for herbicides, growth regulators, and defoliants. Therefore, the choice of the adjuvant in an agrochemical formulation is crucial. The surfactants commonly used as adjuvants illustrate the wide array of surfactant chemistry available which includes anionic, nonionic, amphoteric and cationic surfactants; all can be found in today?s adjuvant market. The aim of the present review is the analysis of the role and properties of the new adjuvants for agriculture and the improvement of the ecotox profile of the pesticides formulations in particular glyphosate formulation. Literature of the last ten years has been reviewed.