In agricultural cultivation, many farmers have encountered this problem: even though they applied pesticides on time and in the correct amounts, pests and diseases were not effectively controlled, and foliar fertilizers seemed to be ineffective. This not only wasted pesticides and labor but also affected the normal growth of crops. In fact, the problem may not lie with the pesticides themselves, but rather with neglecting a crucial step—choosing the right agricultural adjuvants. Today, we will introduce you to a "performance-enhancing helper" in agricultural production—agricultural organosilicon surfactants.
Some farmers might ask, what are agricultural silicone surfactants? Simply put, they are adjuvant products specifically designed for use with pesticides. They appear as a colorless to light yellow transparent liquid and, thanks to their unique physical and chemical properties, they work synergively with pesticides to maximize their effectiveness. Compared to ordinary adjuvants, their core advantages lie in key areas such as surface tension, spreading ability, penetration, and emulsification/dispersion. This is the main reason why they have become such a valuable tool in agricultural production.
Let's start with the basic characteristics. One of the most prominent features of this agricultural silicone surfactant is its low surface tension. You may not be familiar with the term "surface tension," but simply put, it's the force that causes the surface of a liquid to behave like a stretched membrane, preventing the liquid from spreading across a solid surface. If a pesticide solution has high surface tension, when sprayed onto crop leaves or insect bodies, it easily forms droplets that roll off, failing to adequately contact the target area and thus hindering its effectiveness. However, adding this silicone adjuvant significantly reduces the surface tension of the solution, making the pesticide solution more effective.
Based on its low surface tension characteristics, it also provides excellent spreading and penetration properties. When spraying pesticides, solutions containing this adjuvant show a significantly reduced contact angle, allowing them to quickly spread across the surface of crop leaves or insect bodies, forming a uniform film instead of aggregating into scattered droplets. This uniform spreading effect not only increases the contact area between the pesticide and the target area but also enhances the adhesion of the pesticide, reducing loss due to wind and rain, and allowing every drop of pesticide to be more fully utilized.At the same time, its penetrating ability helps the liquid medicine to be better absorbed by the crop leaves or to penetrate into the crevices on the surface of the pests, further enhancing its effectiveness.
In terms of compatibility, this agricultural silicone surfactant also performs exceptionally well. It is easily soluble in many common solvents such as methanol, isopropanol, acetone, xylene, and dichloromethane, and can be uniformly dispersed in water. It is well-suited for use in various pesticide formulations, including aqueous solutions, emulsifiable concentrates, and other formulations. More importantly, it does not cause decomposition of the pesticide active ingredient, thus preserving the original activity of the pesticide to the greatest extent and avoiding the problem of reduced efficacy due to improper selection of adjuvants.
From a practical application perspective, its uses are very broad. It can be used as a spray adjuvant, foliar absorption enhancer, and activator, and is compatible with various agricultural inputs such as herbicides, foliar fertilizers, growth regulators, and insecticides. For example, when spraying herbicides, adding this adjuvant allows the liquid to better cover the weed surface, improving the weeding effect; when using foliar fertilizers, it can promote the absorption of nutrients by crops, making the fertilization effect more significant; and when controlling pests and diseases, it can enhance the adhesion and penetration of the liquid on the surface of pests, improving the efficiency of pest and disease control.
