Insects pose a serious hazard and are the cause of two primary types of crop loss. Insects devouring leaves and boring holes in stems, fruit, and/or roots cause direct damage to plants as the first of these two types of damage. The second type of damage is indirect damage, in which insects actually do little to no harm but instead cause crops to get infected with bacteria, viruses, or fungi.
One of the primary offenders in this aspect are aphids, which spread illness from plant to plant, frequently out of control as their numbers increase. To increase the efficiency of the pesticide, insecticide, or herbicide and to improve the crop protection product’s overall performance, farmers use adjuvants. Drift control, wetting agents, water conditioners, stickers, and penetrants are a few examples of these additives.
Thus, the global agricultural adjuvants market is expected to archive $5,485.1 million worth by 2030, which will grow at a 5.5% CAGR in the coming years. The increase in investments in the agricultural sector and rise in demand for agrochemicals are two of the major reasons which influence the demand for agricultural adjuvants.
Global food consumption has increased as a result of the enormous growth in the world population in recent years. As per the Population Division of the UNDESA, in 2017, there were 7.6 billion people on the planet; by 2050, that number is projected to increase by 30.9% to approximately 9.8 billion people. Therefore, demand for the crop will increase in the future: similarly, the sale of adjuvants will also increase.
Classification of Adjuvants
Agricultural adjuvants fall under a variety of types. Following are a few of them: –
• Surfactants: – Surfactants are activator substances that improve performance by enhancing leaf penetration, enhancing surface contact, and lowering runoff. These may take the form of stickers, spreaders, wetting, and emulsifiers agents. In addition, there are three types of surfactants: non-ionic, anionic, and cationic. The first two of these are applied to crops.
Cationic surfactants are typically used in cleaning products like soap and should not be utilized with crops, especially as surfactants for herbicides. They are designed to be used with plants, not other cleaning agents.
• Oil-Based Adjuvants: – The drying of crop protection treatments is slowed down by the use of oil-based adjuvants, which increases their effectiveness by allowing for more absorption. Additionally, the penetration into the leaves can be enhanced by these agricultural adjuvants.
Crop oil concentrates, crop oils, and vegetable oil concentrates are the three categories into which oil-based adjuvants can also be divided. The base of crop oils typically consists of petroleum oil, which is combined with a few non-ionic surfactants. Vegetable and crop oil concentrates are concentrated blends of non-ionic and oil surfactants that are designed to be used sparingly.
• Utility Adjuvants: – Utility Adjuvants correct particular issues that might negatively impact the spray solution or the pesticide application. Users may maximize the effectiveness of the pesticide application by regulating these variables. One class of special-purpose adjuvants, which includes elements such as buffering and conditioning agents, compatibility agents, deposition agents, defoaming agents, and drift control agents, alters the physical properties of the spray solution.
• Activator Adjuvants: – Adjuvants known as activators are used to enhance the “activity” of pesticides, usually by speeding up their absorption and lowering their surface tension on leaves. Surfactants, oils, and fertilizers containing nitrogen are examples of activator adjuvants. Due to their capacity to lower surface tension and improve solubilization, activator adjuvants are appropriate for a variety of applications.
