U of I study shows benefits of WETCIT adjuvant
FRESNO, Calif. — An independent University of Illinois study has shown that WETCIT adjuvant, now with TransPhloem technology, provides greater herbicide uptake and faster translocation of systemic herbicides, such as Roundup, compared to other widely used adjuvants.
As part of the larger study, phosphorescent images of lambsquarter treated with a C14 radio isotope of glyphosate and the adjuvants being tested provided evidence that WETCIT delivered more herbicide into the roots faster than other types of adjuvants.
“Better translocation delivers more herbicide to the roots to do the job of killing weeds in both preseason burndown and in-season applications. This means a lethal dose of herbicide more likely will be delivered to the roots and the chance of resistance developing is lessened,” explained Riley Reynolds, director of sales and marketing for Oro Agri Inc.
“In addition, the ability of WETCIT to move foliar herbicides into plants more quickly means applications have less of a chance to be adversely affected by environmental conditions, like a pop-up rain shower. Overall, WETCIT, with TransPhloem technology, protects growers’ investments with better herbicide performance and, hopefully, less concern about weed resistance.”
Conducted by researchers at the U of I, the Oro Agri Inc.-commissioned study compared the absorption, penetration and translocation rates of foliar applications made with radio isotope solutions of Roundup PowerMax, used alone and combined with WETCIT and other popular types of adjuvants: crop oil concentrates, methylated seed oils, high surfactant methylated seed oils, and non-ionic surfactants.
Once the materials have been absorbed and penetrated the leaf surface, WETCIT’s TransPhloem technology moves active ingredients into the phloem. The study showed WETCIT offers fast translocation of a herbicide from the leaf surface into the plant’s petiole in as little as 15 minutes after application.
It also found that a dramatically higher percentage of glyphosate is moved into the plant, including the roots, when combined with WETCIT, compared to other adjuvant types.
In summary, the university study found that, upon application, WETCIT delivers more post-emergent, systemic herbicide to weeds’ roots faster than other types of adjuvants providing the potential to kill weeds faster and reducing the amount of water and nutrients they could steal from growers’ crops.
