Why Do I Need to Use Adjuvants with Herbicides?
Once you have picked the proper herbicide, it should be easy from there, right? Find the rate and timing on the label, dial in the right water volume, then mix and spray. But is it really that easy? There are a lot of factors that need to be considered when using herbicides. One of the factors that may hinder control is water quality.
Depending on the herbicide, water quality characteristics like pH, hardness and bi-carbs can greatly impact herbicide effectiveness. Some herbicides, like glyphosate and 2, 4-D for example, perform better in a lower tank mix pH. A lot of water sources in my experience, though, tend to have a higher pH, like 7.5 to 8. Glyphosate and 2, 4-D can also be affected by water hardness and bi-carbs, which can have a detrimental impact. Testing water for pH, hardness and bi-carbs should be part of everyone’s management practices. There are numerous water conditioning products that can help you manage all three issues. Hel-Fire® is a unique herbicide activator that utilizes a three-way blend of ingredients to improve results from your weed control application. Hel-Fire increases weed absorption of active ingredient, improves spray deposition and prevents antagonisms caused by poor water quality.
After spray water is in ideal condition, there are still additional steps to be taken. If you’re taking time and spending money to control weeds, wouldn’t you like to get the most out of that spray? This is why it is important to use surfactants to help improve pesticide performance.
Using water as your only carrier isn’t effective because it has a high surface tension and contact angle. It forms a tighter droplet on the leaf surface, providing poor coverage which doesn’t deliver the optimum amount of herbicide into the target plant. Surfactants are designed to decrease that surface tension and contact angle, providing better coverage for maximum herbicide efficiency.
JointVenture®, Dyne-Amic®, and Induce® are superior surfactants that have a wide range of uses to accomplish your goal of a sound application. Helena has a variety of adjuvants available because every application is different. To find the adjuvant that is right for you, contact your local Helena representative or visit www.helenaprofessional.com/ for more information.