Preparation and characterization of lignin-based formulations for controlled release applications in agriculture

CARLOS BUSATTO; MARIA EUGENIA TAVERNA; MAIA LESCANO; VERÓNICA VIVIANA NICOLAU; CRISTINA ZALAZAR; DIANA ALEJANDRA ESTENOZ

Mar del Plata

Simposio; XVI Latin-American Polymer Symposium (SLAP 2018), XIV Iberoamerican Polymer Congress (CIP 2018); 2018

Pesticides are important chemicals used in agriculture.However, some of these compounds exhibitpersistence and mobility in the environment.Atrazine is a moderately toxic triazine, used as aselective pre- and post-emergence herbicide in variouscrops. The actual concern about the impact ofagrochemicals on the environment has increased theuse of natural pestices instead of synthetic ones.Among these compounds, azadirachtin, a strong insectantifeedant and growth-regulating substance is widelyused for pest control purposes. The use ofazadirachtin-based pesticides may be limited by itssusceptibility to photodegradation.The toxicity of atrazine and the photodegradation ofazadirachtin can be reduced using polymer controlledrelease formulations that also increase theeffectiveness of pesticides. In addition, naturalpolymers are of great interest for controlled releaseapplications in agriculture due to theirbiodegradability, free availability, cost effectivenessand low toxicity. Lignins are aromatic biopolymers frombiomass, the second more abundant after cellulose.The aim of this work is to prepare lignin microparticlesand alginate-lignin beads for the encapsulation andcontrolled release of atrazine and azadirachtin,respectively. The formulations are characterized interms of particle size and morphology, encapsulationefficiency and controlled release behavior in water.