Use Quality Products to Minimize Phytotoxicity

Herbicides, fungicides, and all crop protection products are crucial to the management of all Western Canadian farms. We use these products to ensure we grow healthy crops, to maximize yields, and, in the end, make sufficient return on investment. But not all “crop protection” products are created equal and will, not only hurt your crop, but your bottom line.

Phytotoxicity is a significant concern for Western Canadian farmers and while many of the causes are out of farmers’ hands such as environmental stresses, some are not, such as the extraneous use of a surfactant.

A surfactant is generally used to enhance crop protection spray characteristics by lowering surface tension of a spray. They are used to improve spray coverage, adhesion, and uptake. Surfactants interact directly with the plant’s cuticular layer, reacting with lipo-proteins to attenuate cell membranes.

These sound like useful characteristics; however, at the wrong concentrations, they can singe plant tissue which manifests as reduced photosynthetic capacity and chlorophyll fluorescence depreciation: phytotoxicity.

From a 2019 study, it was noted, “An increasing surfactant concentration in pesticide formulation maximizes spray deposition, wettability, and phytotoxicity levels.” [1]

Surfactants can be a useful tool, but the quantities and rates are critical and dependent on crop variety, growth stages, and environmental conditions. If the dosage is at all incorrect for any of these factors, it will likely result in phytotoxicity.

This is where the importance of quality products comes in. Our innovation manufacturers invest in research and test across crop varieties, growth stages, and environmental conditions to determine the precise surfactant type and concentration to maximize efficacy. Without this intensive research and development there is a much higher chance or overdosing or requiring extraneous applications of surfactant that would likely cause phytotoxicity.

For farmers who are focused on their bottom line, trusting an innovation manufacturer will often pay off in the end when you consider the potential for managing phytotoxic damage, replicated applications, and reduced crop quality when you don’t.

[1] Appah, S., Jia, W., Ou, M., Wang, P., & Asante, E. A. (2019). "Analysis of potential impaction and phytotoxicity of surfactant-plant surface interaction in pesticide application." Crop Protection.