New Technology Advancement is Revolutionizing Adjuvant Use
First Ever, Water-based Adjuvant Creates New Category
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With the overwhelming push to sustainability, a diminishing number of new actives being registered, increased environmental impact scrutiny and rampant climate challenges the agriculture industry is turning to adjuvant technologies to overcome constraints and improve crop yields. This push has resulted in many adaptations to existing oil and alcohol-based adjuvants that improve an application’s sustainability, efficacy, and compatibility.
One company, Corbet Scientific, has broken the mold and developed the first of its kind water-based adjuvant Hydrovant®. With roots in medical science, this new patented technology has created a new category of adjuvants called “activator-stickers,” driving impressive results for growers across various crops, active ingredients, soil types, and weather conditions.
How It Works
Tank-mixed Hydrovant sticks active ingredients, including contact and systemic pesticides, pre-emerge and post-emerge herbicides, and liquid fertilizers to the leaf or soil and holds them in place so that the plant can continually absorb them, significantly improving the efficacy of the active. It acts like a super sticker on the leaf, keeping the active in place even after a rain event. In the soil, it spreads the active out laterally in the target zone, significantly slowing leaching and improving the efficacy of the mixing active.
What Makes It Different
Starting with the obvious, it is non-toxic, EPA-approved, and does not require any warnings. On top of that, it has some unique properties that stick the active ingredient to a surface. Hydrovant is not a surfactant and does not change the surface tension of water. This results in a consistent deposition pattern with a uniform droplet size. These same unique properties are exhibited in the soil by increasing lateral movement which keeps the active in the target zone while minimizing leaching.
Advantages
• Increases efficacy of active
• Gentle on crops (no phytotoxicity)
• Won’t clog spray nozzles or equipment
• Extremely safe for the user
• Limits environmental run-off
The impressive results show that Hydrovant increases the efficacy of applications in the soil and on the leaf.
Rigorous Testing & Real World Results
Corbet Scientific has subjected Hydrovant to countless replicated trials and field studies. The impressive results show that Hydrovant increases the efficacy of applications in the soil and on the leaf. Furthermore, across all of the trials and real-world uses, Hydrovant has demonstrated a complete lack of phytotoxicity.
“It’s not OMRI approved yet, but due to results on the 15 acute and ecotoxicity tests, it’s considered a “green” product that doesn’t require any warning language on the label.” says Tom Zangrillo, V.P. Director of Agronomy, Corbet Scientific.
The mode of action of Hydrovant produces multiple benefits including increased lateral movement and significant slowing of vertical movement of aqueous mixtures in the soil. The benefits are consistent across pesticide and liquid fertilizer classes.
A laboratory experiment at the University of Florida illustrates the unique properties Hydrovant displays in soil. Cylinder A contains blue dye and Hydrovant in soil and cylinder B contains blue dye alone in soil. After 24 hours you can see that in cylinder B the blue dye has leached farther down into the soil, while cylinder A with Hydrovant has considerably less leaching.
Further testing including replicated trails indicates that using Hydrovant with pre-emerge herbicides and fertilizers greatly improves performance by keeping the active and water in the target zone for an extended period.
Flexibility of Use
Pre-emerge Herbicides: Hydrovant has proven time and time again to significantly improve the efficacy of pre-emerge herbicides. These claims are clearly supported by the results of three replicated trials with pre-emerge herbicides Chateau 51 (flumioxazin), Prowl H2O (pendimethalin), and Spartan (sulfentrazone), performed by the University of Florida’s SWFREC research center, along with multiple real-world uses.
Soil Applied Nematicides: Corbet Scientific has commercial experience demonstrating the improvement in soil-applied nematicide performance with the application of Hydrovant. The increase in the quantity of nematicide present in the target zone for a longer period of time leads to better nematode control. There are several effective nematicides available for growers in various crops today. Although these nematicides work well, downward vertical movement in the soil is often a challenge for nematicides since either rain or irrigation water is needed to grow crops, and that same moisture leads to the nematicide moving downward and away from the target zone. Hydrovant is able to significantly slow that vertical movement when mixed with nematicides.
Liquid Fertilizers: The “in soil” benefits of adding Hydrovant to pesticides and liquid fertilizers are well documented in replicated trials in addition to extensive commercial experience. The mode of action of Hydrovant produces multiple benefits including increased lateral movement and significant slowing of vertical movement of aqueous mixtures in the soil. The benefits are consistent across pesticide and liquid fertilizer classes.
Corbet Scientific has been granted patents for Hydrovant in twelve countries including the US, with another 18 patents pending, and is fully registered for sale in all fifty US states and 16 countries.
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