140
—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 31,1979
Proper surfactant may boost herbicide
Editor’s Note: Every spr
ing, farmers pat a lot of
careful thought into the
selection of herbicides. But
often they pay little attention
to the surfactants or wetting
agents that should also go in
to the tank mix. This can be.
an expensive mistake. The
following article describes
tiie role of surfactants and
explains why choice of sur
factants is just about as im
portant as choice of the her
bicide itself.
NEW YORK, N.Y. - If
you’ve ever put a nice coat of
polish on your car then
driven through a rain storm,
you’ve seen how the water
reacts to the car’s surface. It
doesn’t really wet the car; it
beads up and runs off. The
same principle applies when
a liquid herbicide is sprayed
on the waxy surface of a
weed. The end result is poor
herbicide performance, and
consequently weed pro
blems.
Because of this basic law
of nature, surfactants are
often mixed with liquid her
bicides to provide more even
coverage and better weed
control. A surfactant’s pur
pose is to modify the surface
forces between the herbicide
and the weed by orienting
itself between the interfaces,
allowing the liquid to spread.
There are some pitfalls
that need to be avoided when
choosing a surfactant to ac
company a specific her
bicide, however. While a sur
factant can often greatly in
crease herbicide efficiency,
one that isn’t suited for a
specific situation can actual
ly harm herbicide per
formance.
According to Dr. Gary A.
Lee of the Department of
Plant and Soil Sciences at
the University of Idaho, in -
one study conducted to
determine the herbicide per
formance enhancement of 70
surfactants, results showed
that 80 per cent actually
reduced the weed killer’s ef
fect, 10 per cent had no ef
fect, and only 10 per cent
boosted the herbicide’s ef
fect.
Part of the reason for
these statistics is that sur
factants are sold separately
from herbicides and are not
subject to EPA registration.
Because there is no authori
ty to regulate performance
standards, false product
claims and misunderstan
dings have easily cropped
up.
An example of this misuse
involves the application of a
surfactant to act as a wetting
agent - spreading the her
bicide over the entire sur
face of the weed. This
characteristic is desirable
when a contact herbicide is
being applied with water in a
low gallonage rate. If no wet
ting agent is present, the
spray droplets will very
likely concentrate on small
sections of the leaf surface,
resulting in localized tissue
burning without kill.
On the other hand, when a
high gallonage rate of the
herbicide and water mixture
is being applied, if a wetting
agent is used by itself up to
two-thirds of the spray reten
tion is required. If the spray
doesn’t stick to the weed, it
can’t do its job.
Mr. C.E. Moran, research
chemicst with Chevron
Chemical Company, agrees
that the selection of a proper
surfactant is a critical step
when putting together a suc
cessful herbicide program.
Moran has recently
evaluated a new formula of
his company’s X-77
Spreader, which is recom
mended for use with Ortho’s
Paraquat CL herbicide;
Paraquat is' a non-selective
contact material commonly
used for no-till production of
both large and small grains,
pasture renovation, and
harvest desiccation of soy:
beans, cotton and
sunflowers. When agitated,
this new formula produces
up to 83 per cent less foam
than other spreaders on the
market, and Moran believes
that’s an important con
sideration for the grower.
“When you reduce surface
tension with a surfactant,
you get foaming,” Moran
said. “Things with low sur
face tension tend to make
bubbles ... it’s just a law of
nature. The grower’s spray
tank will fill up with foam
and he’ll get poor distribu
tion of his chemicals, not to
mention the mess it makes.
The research which led to
this improved low-foam for-
mula of X-77 Spreader is an
example of the work that’s
being done to provide
growers with specially for
mulated adjuvants. Ac
cording to Moran, many
similar products will work m
a specific situation, but com
patability with the herbicide
is very important when
choosing a spreader.
“Unless we’ve extensively
WENATCHEE, Wash. - A
new book entitled “Federal
Farm Loans: How To Ask
For The Money And Get It,”
is designed to show farmers
and ranchers how they can
apply for and obtain FmHA
farm loans for which they
are eligible. The in
formative new book contains
actual procedure condensed
directly from thousands of
pages of Federal
regulations.
Under guidelines of the
Agricultural Credit Act of
1978, farm partnerships,
cooperatives, and cor
porations, as well as in
dividual farmers, can now
receive FmHA loans up to
$400,000 at advantageous
rates and terms.
The book describes six
categories of direct
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• PLANNING LAYOUTS • SALES • INSTALLATION • SERVICE
SHENK'S FARM SERVICE
501 E WOODS DRIVE LITITZ, PA. 17543 PHONE-717-626-1151
After Business Hours - Phone Paul Repine - 717-626-2837
or Mervm Nissley - 717-872-4565
Our Service Trucks Are Radio Dispatched 24 Hr Service Offered
evaluated a spreader-sticker
type adjuvant, we have no
way of knowing how it might
affect the performance of
our products,” he said. “Epr
an individual grower or ap
plicator to conduct a similar
evaluation could be a'very
costly process. Even a small
degree of incompatability
can produce globs of
material which will clog up
the spray rig. and result in
Loan reference
agricultural loans: Farm
Ownership, Soil and Water,
Recreation,
Operating,
Emergency, , and
Emergency Disaster loans.
Specific eligibility
requirements, authorized
loan purposes, loan
limitations, rates, and terms
for each loan category are
carefully' explained. In
ternal agency procedures for
loan processing, and a
glossary of the terms
commonly used in FmHA
loan programs, are detailed.
The book also includes a
variety of sample forms and
a list of suggested Do’s and
Dont’s for the prospective
applicant.
“Federal Farm Loans:
is reference guide for far-
ineffective application. Fur
thermore, incompatibility
often cannot easily be
detected until it’s too late.”
While choosing an effec
tive surfactant to ac
company a specific her
bicide is no simple task, Dr.
, Gary A. Lee offers a basic
rule of thumb for success.
According to him, sur
factants are designed for a
guide available
mers, ranchers, ag lenders,
farm consultants, and others
who can benefit from these
greatly expanded USDA
agricultural loan programs.
Farm
Economic
Open House slated
NEW HOLLAND - Victor
F. Weaver, Inc., will hold a
general public Open House,
Thursday, April 5 from 7:00
p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and Friday,
9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at its
new Fried Chicken
Production Center, South
Custer Avenue and Phillip
Road, New Holland.
The new 85,000 square foot
facility featuring three
production lines produces
approximately 140,000
DID YOU
EVER STOP
AND THINK...
Better Milking means a Vented stretch
Bore Liner
Better Milking means alternating pulsation
for better massaging
Better Milking means a Lower Vacuum
effects
specific use and should be
chosen on that basis. The
manufacturer of a herbicide
will state on the label if an
additional surfactant need
ed, and the brand that should
be used. According to Dr.
Lee, it’s a good idea to follow
this label advice, because
the manufacturer will have
carefully screened available
surfactants to find the most'
suitable material.
The soft cpver book sells for
$7.95, and may be ordered
from: FAARM, P.O. Box
2656, Wentachee,
Washington 98801.
pounds of fried chicken
products daily. Visitors will
be able to view the cooking,
packing and warehousing of
the various Weaver fried
chicken products from a tour
center attached to the new
facility.
« 4-
l*On n - rL SHENKSFAHM
* SERVICE
STAUFFER
I ROAD
MILLPORT WO
■ AIRPORT
WCASTER