New Surfactant Balances pH, Enhances Herbicide Burndown

Posted by Matt Hopkins|January 14, 2016

Regulator 2.0, a new product from Max Systems LLC, seems to be appropriately named, since one of its main functions is to lower, or regulate, the optimum pH of a wide range of spray tank solutions. As a low pH surfactant, Regulator 2.0 also enhances herbicide burndown and delivers molecular oxygen to the plants.

“Unlike most products used in agriculture today, Regulator 2.0 is not a salt-based product, but, instead, is a carbon-based surfactant containing high amounts of energy and oxygen,” says Douglas Stengel, co-owner and business partner in Max Systems LLC. “It would be ideal if farmers could use rainwater, which is at a normal pH, for a herbicide tank mix. Unfortunately, as the rain moves through the soil, it picks up salts and minerals to a point where most groundwater today measures somewhere between 7.4 and 8.2 in pH with an average around 7.6. So by bringing the water to a more neutral pH level, without adding more salt, we’re allowing the herbicide to work even better. Plus, the carbon that we use as a carrier moves through the plant much easier than the salts that serve as a base for most other surfactants.”

Used at rates as low as two four quarts per 100 gallon of water, Regulator 2.0 can be applied to all field and row crops, fruit and nut trees, vegetables, berries and grapes. It may also be foliar applied by air or ground application equipment. Although it should not be mixed with fungicides, biocides and other products containing heavy metals, Regulator 2.0 can also be added to most fertilizer solutions and a number of herbicides. When mixing with other products, a jar compatibility test is recommended and Regulator 2.0 should be added to the tank water first with sufficient agitation.