PESTICIDAL COMPOSITIONS

Abstract

A pesticidal composition comprising: (a) 20 to 35% by weight of spiropidion as active ingredient, and (b) 5.5 to 15% by weight of a dispersing agent combination, comprising: (i) 5 to 10% by weight of the total composition of an acrylic graft copolymer solution in water and propylene glycol; and (ii) 0.5 to 5% by weight of the total composition of a sodium alkyl naphthalene sulfonate formaldehyde condensate.

Claims

1. A pesticidal composition comprising: (a) 20 to 35% by weight of spiropidion as active ingredient, and (b) 5.5 to 15% by weight of a dispersing agent combination, comprising: (i) 5 to 10% by weight of the total composition of an acrylic graft copolymer solution in water and propylene glycol; and (ii) 0.5 to 5% by weight of the total composition of a sodium alkyl naphthalene sulfonate formaldehyde condensate.

2. The pesticidal composition according to claim 1, which is a suspension concentrate.

3. The pesticidal composition according to claim 1, wherein spiropidion is present at 25 to 30% by weight.

4. The pesticidal composition according to claim 1, wherein component (i) comprises a methyl methacrylate/methacrylic acid/monomethoxypolyethylene glycol (PEG) methacrylate graft copolymer having a number average molecular weight of 2,500 to 3,000 Da.

5. The pesticidal composition according to claim 1, wherein component (i) is present at 6 to 9% by weight of the total composition.

6. The pesticidal composition according to claim 1, wherein component (ii) is present at 1 to 3% by weight of the total composition.

7. The composition according to claim 1, further comprising one or more additional ingredients selected from an anti-freeze agent, an anti-foam agent, a thickening agent, a biocide (preservative), a buffering agent, a stabilizer and/or a pigment.

8. An aqueous composition comprising the pesticidal composition according to claim 1, optionally further comprising one or more adjuvants or carriers.

9. A method of combating and controlling pests which comprises applying to a pest, to a locus of a pest, or to a crop of a useful plant susceptible to attack by a pest, a composition according to claim 8.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the pest is selected from the order Homoptera, Thysanoptera, Acarina or Lepidoptera.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the pest is selected from white flies, aphids, thrips.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the plant is a perennial plant selected from coffee, citrus, or grape vine.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the plant is soybean or cotton, or the plant is selected from the order Cucurbitaceae or the order Solanaceae.

14. Use of the composition according to claim 8 for controlling a pest by applying the composition to the growth substrate of a crop of a useful plant.

15. The use according to claim 14, wherein the growth substrate is soil and the application is by drip, drenching or injection of the composition to the soil.

Description

EXAMPLES

[0071] The Examples which follow serve to illustrate the invention, and in particular, demonstrate chemical (active ingredient) and formulation stability for the pesticidal compositions. Table 1 (below) represents a composition A (as a suspension concentrate) according to the invention.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Composition A Component (% by weight) Spiropidion 27.7 Atlox? 4913 (acrylic graft copolymer 7.4 solution in water and propylene glycol) MORWET? D-425 (sodium alkyl naphthalene 1.8 sulfonate formaldehyde condensate) Anti-freeze agent 4.6 Thickening agent 0.5 Preservative agent(s) 0.3 to 0.4 Buffering agent 0.2 Anti-foam agent 0.2 Water up to 100%

[0072] After storage for 12 weeks at 40? C., no change in the physical properties was observed for Composition A as a stable suspension concentrate formulation according to the invention.

[0073] Further, only minimal chemical degradation of the active ingredient spiropidion was observed over a 1-year storage period at 35, 45 and 54? C. as outlined in Table 2 (intervals at 1, 3, 7.5 and 12 months). The percentage amount of spiropidion remaining at each time interval during the high temperature storage testing was compared to an identical sample stored at ?18? C. (100%=amount of spiropidion in the ?18? C. sample at respective time interval).

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Storage % Spiropidion remaining temperature (? C.) 1 month 3 months 7.5 months 12 months 35 100 99 98 45 98 97 54 99

[0074] These data clearly demonstrate the formulation stability and spiropidion active ingredient stability of the compositions of the invention during a high temperature storage test.