arming, Saturday, Aprl 11, 1998
ST. LOUIS. MO. The label
on the jug says "crop oil concen
trate.” If you believe that means
the product is made from a vege
table oil, you’d better read the la
bel a little closer. Chances are, the
primary ingredient is a petroleum
distillate.
The United Soybean Board
(USB) wants farmers and other
herbicide users to know the differ
ence and then make up their own
minds whether to use a herbicide
adjuvant made from petroleum or
one made from a vegetable oil,
such as soybean oil. The USB
does not recommend any particu
lar brand of herbicide or any brand
of adjuvant But, since vegetable
oil is an important market for soy
beans, and since die use of vege
table oils as an adjuvant could be
an important growth market for
soybean oil, they do want all
herbicide users, farm and non
farm, to be able to make an in
formed decision.
An adjuvant does not contain an
active ingredient to control weeds
or other pests; it is an additive
used to help a pesticide work more
effectively. This may allow pesti
cide manufacturers to recommend
a lower rate of a pesticide or im
prove control of a pest so that re
treatment is less frequent or un
necessary. But adjuvants arc not
regulated by the Environmental
Protection Agency as pesticides
are, and there are no consistent,
national labeling laws for adju
vants used with herbicides and
other pesticides.
Several different kinds of adju
vants are defined by the American
Society for Testing and Materials
(ASTM). The ASTM defines a
crop oil concentrate as “an emulsi
fiablc petroleum oil-based product
containing 15 to 20 percent w/w
surfactant and a minimum of 80
percent w/w phytobland oil.” The
name “crop oil” came from the
fact that the product was formu
lated to be used on crops, not be
cause it came from a crop.
The ASTM defines a modified
vegetable oil concentrate as “an
emulsifiable, chemically modified
vegetable oil product containing S
to 20 percent w/w surfactant and
the remainder chemically modi
fied vegetable oil.” If the product
says “methylated seed oil” or
“methylated vegetable oil” or
“methyl soyate” it is vegetable oil
based. But some vegetable oil
based products are mistakenly
called “crop oils” or “crop oil con
centrates” and may list ingredients
with chemical names that are not
recognizable to the lay person as
coming from a vegetable oil.
These vegetable oils primarily
come from seeds such as soy
beans, sunflowers, canola and cot
tonseed but, in some cases, may be
derived from coconut or palm oils.
Almost all adjuvants contain or
act as a surfactant to improve the
dispersion of the herbicide in the
water used as a carrier. Some sur
factants, or surface active agents,
may also be made from vegetable
products or contain products such
as soy lecithin as an ingredient
This surfactant action also im
proves the “wetting” of the leaf
surface, so more herbicide stays
on the weed. Vegetable oil con
centrates and modified vegetable
oil concentrates do both of these
things, as do straight surfactants.
Additionally, modified vege
table oil concentrates improve the
penetration of the herbicide into
the weed. Experts don’t agree on
United Soybean Board
Reports On Oils In Herbicides
how this occurs physically,
though the widely held theory is
that the modified vegetable oil
acts as a solvent to penetrate the
waxy cuticle covering the leaf and
allow more herbicide to be ab
sorbed. Vegetable oil concen
trates, those that are not chemical
ly modified, have less solvency so
they may not hasten penetration of
the herbicide significantly, but do
help to “stick” the herbicide to the
leaf. This logically results in in
creased uptake of the herbicide,
but less rapidly than with a modi
fied vegetable oil.
Finally, die solvent properties
of modified vegetable oils may
help to dissolve some herbicides.
This also helps to distribute the
herbicide evenly throughout the
spray mixture, which can lead to
more consistent results.
For most post-emergence herbi
cides. use of either a vegetable oil
concentrate or a modified vege
table oil concentrate will improve
NFU Applauds Secretary
Glickman, Senators
For Agreement To Combat
Anti-Competitive Measures
WASHINGTON, D.C. Na- «M)-M on t, and Paul Wellstone,
tional Fanners Union (NFU) fly- °-Mmn.
in participants were the first to TTn 77lose ac^ ess,n «
learn that a group of U.S. senators
led by Senate Minority Leader S ip " . in u the . fl y ,n and
Tom Daschle, D-S.D., has agreed s . work , ln kee P in « <roncen
with Agriculture Secretary Dan agncuM marlcets on
Glickman to aggressively pursue . egislanve front burner. NFU
measures to combat anti-comped- . P° inted danger to pro
tive practices in the livestock pro- 38 * eUas £ consumers of
cessing sector. «“"« > ndus struclur ® “
“We must end the secret deals whl< ; h more ** n 80 percent of red
in livestock sales right now.” njMt processing natmwide is con-
Dachle told NFU fly-in partici- ?° J ust four multinational
pants. “I'm very pleased to an- fums - Col " Pares Wlth J^ 1 . 36
nounce that the secretary has said ° f K red meat
he agrees with us and will aggres- ctrolled by these firms in 1980.
sively seek mandatory price re- P° the fact
porting (of livestock sales) with con ? umer . PP ces
Congress and make suer that it be- ” ma “ ed °f"“ ant despite precipi
comes law before year end.” to " s drops in 68 ofUvcan *-
NFU has repeatedly called for ma 1
mandatory price reporting on all
livestock sales, including the price
and terms of meat sales for export,
on the basis that a lack of price
transparency has contributed to a
thinner market and lower live
stock prices. NFU also has been
frustrated by the lack of aggres
sive enforcement of Packers and
Stockyards Act provisions which
are supposed to be used to combat
anti-competitive practices by the
buyers and processors of live
stock.
“We want to be sure that we put
teeth into the Packers and Stock
yards laws, and we want to see the
Department of Agriculture use
muscle to put competition back in
to the system,” Daschle said.
“This isn’t something that ought
to be left just to the Department of
Agriculture. I want to see the De
partment of Justice do for meat
what it has done with Microsoft in
the last month.”
Daschle made the announce
ment on the steps of the Senate be
fore 130 Farmers Union members
immediately following the
group’s meeting with Glickman.
Daschle was joined in the an
nouncement by Sen. Tim Johnson,
D-S.D., and Sen. Byron Dorgan,
D-N.D. Others meeting with
Glickman were Sens. Bob Kerrey,
D-Neb„ Tom Harkin, D-lowa,
Kent Conrade, D-N.D., Max Bau
its performance. The amount of
improvement depends on the
herbicide; with modified vege
table oils working as well as, and
sometimes significantly beter
than, the petroleum-based oils.
Control of larger weeds and/or
longer-lasting weed control arc
some of the benefits attributed to
the use of modified vegetable oil
concentrates.
In recent years, work specifical
ly with modified seed oil concen
trates as adjuvants have shown
them to be clearly superior to pe
troleum-based crop oil concen
trates when used with specific
herbicides. These herbicides re
commend using a modified vege
table oil concentrate as an adju
vant This is when it is most im
portant to know whether the
adjuvant you select contains a ve
getable oil or a petroleum oil as its
base. Just because it says “crop oil
concentrate” does not mean it con
tains vegetable oil
“We need aggressive attention
by the department (USDA) in
each of these four areas. The
secretary has said he will work
with us to make it happen. Now
we have to make sure the job gets
done,” Daschle said.
The announcement by Daschle
follows an address to NFU fly-in
participants yesterday by Vice
President A 1 Gore, who stressed
the importance of involving agri
cultural producers in the develop
ment and implementation of en
vironmental regulations.
A LESSON
WELL
LEARNED...
LANCASTER
FARMING’S
CLASSIFIED
ADS
GET RESULTS!
The use of a crop oil concen
trate, or a modified vegetable oil
concentrate, is not recommended
with some herbicides. This should
be clearly spelled out on the herbi
cide label. There can be serveral
reasons for this: the herbicide may
not be compatible with an oil and
the spray mixture may form a jel
ly-like substance; the oil may
make the herbicide move too
quickly into the leaf, killing the
leaf but not moving into other
parts of the plant so the weed
grows back; or the use of an oil
with the herbicide may cause crop
damage. In the last case, it may
still be effective to use a vegetable
oil concentrate. These non-modi
fied vegetable oils with surfac
tants may improve the activity of
the herbicide, although a modified
vegetable oil does not.
There may be some basis for the
perception that vegetable oil con
centrates and modified vegetable
oil concentrates are less likely to
cause crop damage, but data com
paring the potential for crop injury
between petroleum-based crop oU
concentrates and vegetable oils, or
modified vegetable oils, on a wide
variety of crops under various cli
matic conditions, is not available.
At recommended rates, vege
table oils and modified vegetable
oils themselves do not cause crop
damage. Because they enhance
penetration of the herbicide into
the plant, either petroleum-based
crop oil concentrates or modified
vegetable oil concentrates may in
tensify the activity of a specific
herbicide on a crop and cause crop
injury. Herbicicde damage to a
crop varies greatly with climatic
conditions and the development
stage of the crop. The use of any
adjuvant is one more factor which
may, or may not, be the cause of
crop injury in a specific situation.
Avoiding contact between the
herbicide spray and the crop is the
best method of reducing or elim
inating the potential for crop dam
age.
“ Our goal is not to recommend
one herbicide over any other, or
any adjuvant brand over any
other,” David Durham, chairman
of the United Soybean Board Do
mestic Marketing Committee
stated. “I, personally, use methy
lated seed oil as an adjuvant when-
ever it fits my program, and I am Surfactant - see surface-active
pleased with the performance, agent.
That doesn’t mean that it is the Vegetable oil oil extracted
right choice with every herbicide from seeds; typically those of
or for every situation. It’s up to xorn, cotton, peanut, rapeseed,
each herbicide user to read and sunflower, canola, or soybean.
follow the label directions that Vegetable oil concentrate
come with the herbicide. I just an emulsifiable vegetable oil
want every fanner, every road su- product containing sto 20 percent
pervisor, every utility company, weighl-tc-weight(w/w) surfactant
every forest owner and any other and a minimum of 80 percent w/«
herbicide user to know that they vegetable oil.
EXTENDED PARTS DEPT.
STORE HOURS
EFFECTIVE MONDAY, APRIL 6, 1998
To Better Serve You During
The Busy Planting Season
APRIL - MAY - JUNE
MON. THRU FRI.
7:00 AM -8:00 PM; SAT. 7:00 AM • 3:00 PM
133 Rothsville Station Rd. iaMM
DTWT mmiPCT P.0.80x 0395 H*| Iw
BWKrf £ SS® 1 Liti,z - PA17543 m Farm Plan
“f ItllOS INC — / {717)626-4705 Ct 3 ASnwolFPCFmndl
. I*Boo-414-4705 FAX 7 17 . 6 26-099 j
have a choice to use a vegetable
oil-based product, instead of a pe
troleum-based product”
A list of herbicide adjuvants
containing vegetable oils, particu
larly soybean oil, has been com
piled and placed on the Internet at
www.StratSoy.com and at
www.omnitechintl.com. For more
information about soy adjuvants
please contact your state soybean
board.
Crop oil concentrate an
emulsifiable petroleum oil-based
product containing 15 to 20 per
cent weight-to-weight (w/w) sur-1
factant and a minimum of 80 per-1
cent w/w phytobland oil. |
Crop oil (emulsifiable) an |
emulsifiable petroleum oil-based |
product containing up to five per-1
cent weight-to-weight (w/w) sur-1
factant and the remainder of a|
phytobland oil. ’
Modified vegetable oil an ,
oil, extracted from seeds, that has I
been chemically modified (for ex-1
ample, methylated).
Modified vegetable oil con
centrate an emulsifiable,
chemically modified vegetable oil!
product containing 5 to 20 percent
weight-to-weight (w/w) surfactant «
and the remainder chemically
modified vegetable oil. I
Nonionic surfactant a sur-|
face-active agent having no ioniz-j
able polar-end groups but com-*
prised of hydrophilic and lipo-j
philic segments. i
Phytobland oil a highly re- j
fined paraffinic material with a
minimum unsulfonated residue of
92 percent
(v/v).
Sticker a material that as
sists the spray deposit to adhere a
stick to the target and may be mea
sured in terms of resistance to
time, wind, water, mechanical ac
tion, or chemical action.
Surface-active agent i
material that, when added to a liq
uid medium, modifies the proper-
ties of the medium at a surface a
interface.
Note surface-active agent it
the general term which include!
soluble detergents in liquid
medium, dispersing agents, emul
sifying agents, foaming agents,
penetrating agents, and wetting
agents.
NOTICE
ASTM Definitions