Symposium highlights the latest in adjuvant and formulation trends

Adjuvants are increasingly prized. Adjuvants are also subject to discussion. With a one-day symposium SURfaPLUS contributes to this exchange of ideas and views and stimulates the development and transfer of adjuvancy knowledge. The symposium will be held on November 20th in conference centre De Balie, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Adjuvants can greatly enhance the performance of biocontrol agents. A well-chosen adjuvant, for instance, retains water in drop deposits after application of the spray solution. Antagonistic fungi or other biocontrol agents can survive in these tiny drops on the crop’s canopy. And so they can make a good start in controlling the pest or pathogen to combat. All adjuvants, however, are not equally effective in improving the robustness of biocontrol agents. At the upcoming Future of Adjuvants symposium, adjuvant expert Hans de Ruiter (SURfaPLUS) will present criteria for the selection adjuvants for biocontrol products. SURfaPLUS has just finished several projects on the enhancement of biopesticide performance. These experiments have yielded surprising results, according to symposium organizer Hans de Ruiter. With his biopesticide presentation, he will kick off this follow-up to the well-attended jubilee meeting of November 2011. The Future of Adjuvants symposium will be held on November 20th, 2015 in conference centre De Balie, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. In eight presentations, experts from major companies and research stations will highlight new adjuvant concepts, the latest adjuvant and formulation trends and how to improve the performance of biocontrol products.

Novel adjuvants and carriers

The programme has inspiring presentations about adjuvant and formulation novelties. Borregaard AS introduces its microfibrillar cellulose: a three dimensional network of cellulose microfibrils with a high surface area and a large amount of accessible hydroxyl groups. Being a cellulosic material, it is substantially different from the surfactants normally used as adjuvants for herbicides, according to the Norwegian company. The other innovation comes from Wacker Chemie AG. This company presents - hot of the press - its research on cyclodextrin complexes of selected pyrethroid insecticides.

Adjuvant and formulation experts from BASF, Clariant, Croda and Evonik will also tell about new adjuvant concepts and the latest adjuvant and formulation trends. The information about the chemistry of these adjuvants is interspersed with data from field and greenhouse experiments. The symposium is not complete without a lecture about the environmental aspects of adjuvants. This presentation will be held by Jan van der Zande, known for his years of research into effects of formulations and adjuvants on spray drift and emission of active ingredients. All the presenters will be challenged to give in a few words their view on the “future of adjuvants”.

Knowledge sharing

Sharing of adjuvancy and formulation knowledge is a core business of the symposium organizing company SURfaPLUS. The company is based in Wageningen, the Netherlands, and was founded by Hans de Ruiter, a scientific researcher with ample expertise in adjuvants for agrochemistry and first president of the International Society for Agrochemical Adjuvants (ISAA). He is also editor in chief of Adjuvants & Formulations, a digital magazine for agchem specialists with technical information and hyperlinks to new literature. Furthermore, the SURfaPLUS website provides much information on adjuvants, research and related topics.