Adhesion in Treating Plants and Seeds with Pesticides

Adhesion of Pesticides to Plants. In dusting plants with pesticides, only about 10% of the powder preparations settle on the plant leaves. The greater part of the pesticide (about 90%) is wasted. This is not only because the area of the leaves is much smaller than the area dusted, but also because not all the particles falling on the leaves remain attached to the latter if the leaves are dry, the particles are blown or shaken off, and if rain is falling the powder is washed away. 

The efficient use of aerosol pesticides may be improved by increasing the adhesive force (see 35) between the particles and the leaves, for example, by giving a charge to the aerosol particles [478-481] (see 12). The charge on the particles must, of course, be made unipolar, since otherwise the particles might stick to- 

ADHESION IN TREATING PLANTS AND SEEDS WITH PESTICIDES 

The number of particles of the same electrical polarity settling at the instant of time t is given by the equation 

The adhesion of a charged aerosol to the leaves of plants is 5-6 times that of an uncharged aerosol [478]. In dusting plants and defoliating cotton with a charged aerosol, the amount of the preparation used is halved as a result of the adhesive forces. In addition to the quantitative improvement, the charging of the particles ensures an even deposit over the whole surface of the plant leaves, including the underside [479]. 

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Adhesion in Treating Plants and Seeds with Pesticides... 

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