BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

I. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a Stable Bordeaux Mixture Suspension and a process for the preparation thereof. This invention in specific relates to a Bordeaux Mixture/Paint more particularly, to a new class of stable compositions having good shelf life, high stability and higher weatherability due to increased adhesive properties and the process of preparation of the same.

This stable mixture can be applied by brushing the mixture on the fungees in the affected areas in the stem of the plant, from the soil level and upwards to the straight stem and its junctions, manually. This novel mixture is also ideal for low volume spray to both sides of the leaves. Another aim of this invention is to provide a shelf life of up to 12 months from the date of manufacture of the said mixture, which overcomes the current drawbacks of instant use due to sedimentation. Furthermore, this invention also aims to improve the weatherability aspect, by increasing the adhesive properties of the said mixture, to enable the same to stick to the leaves on application. Yet another aspect of this invention is to have a stable composition which does not decompose on being prepared leading to sedimentation.

II. Description of the Prior Art

The fungicidal activities of certain copper salts, notably copper sulfate, have long been recognized. Their application as foliar fungicides, however, is limited because of their high phytotoxicity and poor weatherability. In late 19th Century, Millardet discovered that the phytotoxicity of copper sulfate can be substantially reduced and its weatherability improved by adding calcium hydroxide to an aqueous solution of CuSO4 and quickly applying the resultant hydrogel suspension to the plant. This discovery led to the development of a practical foliar fungicide which is known as Bordeaux mixture.

Since the discovery of Bordeaux mixture, a number of related copper base fungicides were also successfully prepared by mixing an aqueous solution of a copper salt with an alkali to form a suspension of precipitates. While these "fixed" copper fungicides are satisfactory in many fungicidal applications, they all have some inherent disadvantages that render their application as foliar fungicides cumbersome and in some instances not practical.

Conventional Bordeaux mixture is generally obtained as 1% or 0.5% Bordeaux strength. The preparation method also varies from place to place and also from grower to grower even in one place. Not much importance is given however, to the pH value of the mixture. The chemical formation under controlled conditions of Copper Hydroxide and Calcium Sulphate are formed when Copper Sulphate solution is reacted with Lime solution. The common disadvantages of this mixture are that this Bordeaux mixture loses its stability and dispersibility after 18 to 24 hours of preparation. Sedimentation at the bottom of the barrel is one of the major problems apart from low shelf life.

Normally, 1 kg of Copper Sulphate is made jnto a paste form when it is put it in 5 litres of water and knead properly. Similarly 1kg of Lime shell is made into Quick Lime (copper oxide) when it is added with 5 litres water slowly to form a paste. Earlier made Copper Sulphate paste is mixed with the Lime paste by mixing it vigorously. This is the conventional Bordeaux paste which is used on rubber trees or pepper vines as a protective and preventive paint against Plytopthora Pamieora fungus. This is also used in Rubber Plantation against Pink disease on Rubber trees and also on tomato plants against blight. However, this composition is not without its drawbacks.

Bordeaux mixture, for example, has undesirable phytotidal properties. Furthermore, its precipitates are not stable. They decompose shortly after mixing, i.e., about one and a half hour after preparation, into a number of crystalline products which have markedly lower fungicidal activity than the freshly prepared Bordeaux Mixture. The instability of the precipitates requires the preparation of the Bordeaux mixture shortly before its application, usually in the field where measuring, dissolving and mixing of separate powder components are inconvenient and troublesome. This disadvantage also renders them unsuitable for many modern mechanized spraying techniques.

One of the options was to develop dehydrated Bordeaux preparations, which may be readily reconstituted with water to produce a fungicidally effective hydrogel. A practical dehydrated Bordeaux fungicide has the obvious advantage that the preparation of the spray mixture in the field is simplified and that it can be easily adapted to a variety of mechanized spraying devices. However, these dry Bordeaux fungicides exhibit lower fungicidal activity and substantially less adhesion to plant leaves than the freshly prepared hydrogels. The low adhesion property of these fungicides leads to poor weatherability.

Attempts to reduce the phytotoxicity of the dry fungicidal preparations and simultaneously to retain their fungicidal activity have not been successful. The treatments associated with these prior attempts invariably reduce the fungicidal activities of the fungicides.

The existing Bordeaux Mixture/Paint has the following drawbacks namely very poor shelf life i.e. the mixture must be consumed immediately on preparation, has poor dispersability due to sedimentation and has poor adhesive qualities. The scope of this invention is to address these issues namely increasing shelf life, dispersability and weatherability of the Bordeaux Mixture/Paint substantially.

The Bordeaux mixture spray is done by making a bathing spray which results in more accumulation of material on leaves and fruits and over spilling to the soil, thus contaminating the soil. In reality, farmers are showing a tendency to increase the quantity of Lime in excess of the actual requirement. The farmers traditionally are of the idea that if more lime is added, the visibility of Bordeaux patches on the sprayed or painted areas are at acceptable and satisfactory levels. This false belief results in possible Lime injury on plants and that apart a more alkaline mixture tends to increase the deterioration of the product. The chemical reaction taking place is as follows:

CaO + H2O—>Ca(OH)2
CuSO4 + Ca(OH)2 —> Cu(OH)2 = CuSO4

The actual stoichiometry of the reaction is such that, the Copper Sulphate to Spray
Lime ratio will be around 1:0.225 which means to say that lgm of Copper Sulphate
requires hardly 0.225g of Calcium Oxide for the complete reaction provided both the chemicals are 100% pure. In reality no farmer is inclined to practice this ratio.

Copper Sulphate Pentahydrate which is used in Bordeaux preparation should contain 24.7% Copper while Spray Lime should contain 56%min free Calcium oxide. While preparing this mixture, total neutralization of Copper Sulphate does not take place but series of basic copper sulphites are formed. They are 4CuO.S02, 5CuO2, SO2, 10CuO.SO2 etc. The first two Copper Sulphites (4 - 5 CuO.SO2) are sparingly soluble and are very heavy in nature. These two precipitates settle within few minutes of their formation. Rest of the precipitates are insoluble in the Bordeaux solution. Various colour appearances of the mixture in the course of its preparation happens and it makes it impossible to ascertain the quality of the mixture or the colour grade.

The main disadvantage of this method of preparation is that the Bordeaux mixture prepared with excess of Lime is susceptible for rapid deterioration that is when pH is abnormally greater than 11 or 12.5. Excess use of Lime can also pose Lime injury to plant tissues. Farmers normally use commercial lime which contains impurities like Calcium Carbonate, magnesium carbonate, magnesium Oxide. Calcium carbonate impurity has a tendency to settle on the bottom readily making spray difficult since they float during the stirring. Magnesium carbonate impurity causes fast retardation in the deterioration of Bordeaux mixture. While considering the impurities usually contained in commercial quality copper sulphate, above 5% content of Ferrous sulphate, it has a deceiving effect on the colour of the mixture as well as the settling rate. It has also been reported authoritively that alkaline Bordeaux mixture containing excess Lime (pH 10 to 11.5) is more active than in neutral mixtures. Soluable Copper appears more readily in weathering neutral Bordeaux than in alkaline condition. Presence of excess soluble copper under cold, wet conditions followed by bright sunshine may pose injury to plant tissues. Furthermore, when growers are using hard water for preparation of Bordeaux and when it contains greater quantities of Calcium bicarbonate, then it may affect the dissolution of Lime or Copper Sulphate during the preparation in the field of spraying. This water source that may contain pesticides or insecticide contaminants, should be strictly avoided in the field preparation of Bordeaux mixture. Muddy water may also cause deceiving effect in the solution.

The commonly practiced way of preparation of Bordeaux mixture 1% strength by farmers is in the field for spray. . As a usual practice fanners take 1 kg of Lime Shell or Limestone for this purpose(which will make the Bordeaux mixture more alkaline). Pour while stirring the strong Copper Sulphate solution to the strong Lime solution. This stirring slowed down the rate of settlement of the precipitate. When Copper is slowly added to Lime, the competition of added copper ions to react with lime is regular and proper chemical reaction follows, thus giving uniform sized particles.

On the other hand when Lime is added to Copper Solutions, the competition between the copper ions (present in large quantities) for available lime is high resulting in coarse precipitation. The remaining quantity of water could be added again slowly to maintain the pH level. Farmers use litmus paper for pH value assessment or dip an iron knife into the prepared solution to find whether the solution is acidic or not (ie., resulting corrosion of the knife end is the symptom of more acidic). However, these methods are at best crude and not one hundred percent dependable.

Field made Bordeaux mixture is sprayed in high volumes by farmers using rocket sprayers hand operated or power generated, produces large particles of spray and bathing the plant which causes soil contamination, wastage of valuable solution in the process. Moderate or heavy rain after the spray on the same day causes extensive loss of copper deposits especially when under normal practice farmers are not using any sticking agent in the mixture. The possible effects of conventional Bordeaux spray as per Mc Callan and Frank Wilcox is that the relatively insoluble precipitate in Bordeaux mixture and insoluble copper therein becomes transformed in part to soluble copper. The copper ionic forms may cause the death of fungus, either directly by its absorption into host leaf tissues, in which these become unsuitable for the spreading and establishment of the fungees. Spraying of Bordeaux mixture under inclement weather conditions may sometimes result in defoliation especially when spray is immediately followed by heavy rain and then the bright sunlshine coupled with misty situations in the field. Moreover, the earlier stated sedimentation on the bottom of the Bordeaux mixture causes deterioration and thereby a dispensation of a Bordeaux mixture prepared in advance on the day before application is not feasible. This results in disturbance in the spraying work. It cannot be re-dispersed owing to caking, or even if it can be re-disposed, the nozzle of the sprayer gets clogged therewith. This re-dispersed mixture cannot be sprayed uniformly on the surface of the leaves.

Patent No.(WO/2001/082695) ADDITIVE FOR BORDEAUX MIXTURE AND BORDEAUX MIXTURE has already been filed for an ADDITIVE FOR BORDEAUX MIXTURE AND BORDEAUX MIXTURE.

This deals with an additive for Bordeaux mixtures which satisfies all of three requirements, i.e., excellent dispersibility during preparation and long-term storage, excellent stability of a spread state and adherent state immediately after spraying and after drying, and excellent suitability for visually ascertaining the deposition amount immediately after spraying; and a Bordeaux mixture containing the additive. The additive comprises a polymer having a molecular weight of 5,000 to 80,000 obtained by copolymerizing (a) an unsaturated monocarboxylic acid/alkoxylated polyalkylene glycol adduct monomer having an HLB of 3.0 to 7.0 with (b) a monomer which is an unsaturated carboxylic acid derivative in a molar ratio of from 1/1 to 1/9.5.

In certain cases in India, Jaggery is added to the conventional Bordeaux Mixture to make it last longer say 3 to 5 days. In all cases till date, there exists no Bordeaux Mixture with the shelf life of upto six months as claimed in this invention.

This invention is however completely different in composition to the existing compositions. The composition of the present invention is to utilize the micelle formations and is obtained by using an emulsion and a detergent along with the current traditional methods for preparation of the stable Bordeaux Mixture as claimed in this patent. This invention aims to achieve the same as the aforecited patent namely excellent dispersability, long shelf life and good weatherability by increasing the adhesive properties of the mixture. Therefore not only the excellent disperability but also the stability, efficacy and weatherability of the Bordeaux mixture has been made a focus of this invention. Another aspect of this invention is that the foliar, flower and fruit fall is contained.

Surface active substances (surfactants) can increase the kinetic stability of emulsions greatly so that, once formed, the emulsion does not change significantly over years of storage. An emulsifier (also known as an emulgent) is a substance which stabilizes an emulsion by increasing its kinetic stability. One class of emulsifiers is known as surface active substances, or surfactants.

Detergents are another class of surfactant, and will physically interact with both oil and water, thus stabilizing the interface between oil or water droplets in suspension. This principle is exploited in soap to remove grease for the purpose of cleaning. Sometimes the inner phase itself can act as an emulsifier, and the result is nanoemulsion - the inner state disperses into nano-size droplets within the outer phase.

A micelle (plural micelles, micella, or micellae) is an aggregate of surfactant molecules dispersed in a liquid colloid. A typical micelle in aqueous solution forms an aggregate with the hydrophilic "head" regions in contact with surrounding solvent, sequestering the hydrophobic single tail regions in the micelle centre. This phase is caused by the insufficient packing issues of single tailed lipids in a bilayer. The difficulty filling all the volume of the interior of a bilayer, while accommodating the area per head group forced on the molecule by the hydration of the lipid head group leads to the formation of the micelle. This type of micelle is known as a normal phase micelle (oil-in-water micelle). The process of forming micellae is known as micellization and forms part of the phase behavior of many lipids according to their polymorphism.

The ability of a soapy solution to act as a detergent has been recognized for centuries. Micelles composed of ionic surfactants have an electrostatic attraction to the ions that surround them in solution, the latter known as counterions. Although the closest counterions partially mask a charged micelle (by up to 90%), the effects of micelle charge affect the structure of the surrounding solvent at appreciable distances from the micelle. Ionic micelles influence many properties of the mixture, including its electrical conductivity. Adding salts to a colloid containing micelles can decrease the strength of electrostatic interactions and lead to the formation of larger ionic micelles.

When surfactants are present above the CMC (Critical micelle concentration), they can act as emulsifiers, that will allow a compound that is normally insoluble (in the solvent being used) to dissolve. This occurs because the insoluble species can be incorporated into the micelle core, which is itself solubilized in the bulk solvent by virtue of the head groups' favorable interactions with solvent species. The most common example of this phenomenon is detergents, which clean poorly soluble lipophilic material (such as oils and waxes) that cannot be removed by water alone. Detergents also clean by lowering the surface tension of water, making it easier to remove material from a surface. The emulsifying property of surfactants is also the basis for emulsion polymerization.

Soap when dissolved in a medium exhibit colloidal slate properties due to the formation of aggregated particles called micelles. The formation of micelles takes place only above a particular temperature called Kraft temperature (Tc) and above a particular concentration called critical Micelle concentration (CHC), for soaps the CMC is 10-4 to 10-3 mol L-1 Each micelle contains about 100 molecules.

Soap molecule - Aggregation of RC00" ions to form a micelle.

Soap is sodium salt of higher fatty acid and may be represented as R C OONa sodium stearate, CH3(CH2)16 COO" Na+, Sodium palmitate, C15H31 COO Na, etc. When dissolved in water, it dissociates into RCOO" and Na+ ions. The R COO" ions, however, consist of two parts ie non-polar long hydrocarbon chain, R called the "tail" which is hydrophobic (water repelling) and the Polar group COO" called the "head" which is hydrophilic (water loving). In R COO" ion, the hydrocarbon part points towards the Centre and the COO" part outwards, forming micelles.

III. Object of the Invention:

This invention is aimed at the use of a combination of emulsifiers and surfactants to the traditional Bordiaux combination to enhance the dispersibility, the shelf life, efficacy, sticking power and the weatherability of the composition.

The obect of this invention is more specifically a suspension comprising of Bordeaux mixture suspension with emulsified oil and detergent which has resulted in improved suspensibility, much improved copper ion dispensability, a shelf life upto 12 months from the date of manufacture, improved weatherability, improved efficacy which is readily available for use as paint or spray mixture with the above properties. Decaying of leaves and berries and flowers is also much less when using this mixture. This invention also has the features of an extended shelf life and efficacy, as it has sticky and adhesive properties due to its gelatinous nature which results in transformation of more copper ions, into more part soluble copper ion resulting in more effectiveness in suppression of fungus; resulting in longer efficient efficacy life and thus preventing abnormal leaf fall, protecting the trunk from pink disease, curing pink disease affected stems and junctions,
preventing decaying of leaves and ultimately falling of leaves and berries; imparting increased vigour and health to the plants to yield more. This formulation has bactericidal properties also and hence applicable against milews, botrytis as well which is found in all plants.

Formation of emulsion : Detergent/soap is an emulsifier.

A molecule of soap consists of two parts, the hydrocarbon part (C15 H31, C17 H35-etc) which is soluble in oil and the Polar group (COO") which is soluble in water containing Cu2+ ion. One of the many options of using oils is the use of Neem oil. Vegetable oils are theoretically known to have been used but there are no data available by which these preparations result in enhanced stability and weatherability as claimed in this invention.
Neem oil forms emulsion with water containing Cu2+ ion. When emulsified oil is present, in ready to use Bordeaux Mixture/Paint containing a detergent, the R part of soap molecule remains in the oil and the COO- Cu2+ parts remains in water. As a result the interfacial tension between oil and water decreases and hence they are intermixed into each other to form stable emulsion.

Furthermore, it is a well documented fact that Neem oil is used extensively as a fungicide. The non-polar hydrophobic solvent has neem oil solubility. Neem oil has been produced by a number of methods and this has lead to a great variability in the properties of materials designated as Neem oil. Oil expelled from the neem seed will also contain water expelled from the seed by the same process. This aqueous material will carry along with it azardirachtin per million parts by weight of neem oil. Anon in 1986 reported that 10% neem oil inhibited the growth of certain fungi.

The object of the addition of Neem oil to Bordeaux mixture is to provide novel natural fungicide which supplement the ability to kill and control various fungi. The formulation is effective in controlling fungi such as milews, botrytis etc usually found in plants. The presence of Neem oil prevents vaporization for about two weeks after spraying. In practice the concentrated water in oil emulsion is diluted with water to form a stable oil in water emulsion and the extent of dilution of course depends on the particular application. Due to the presence of neem oil and soap, the Bordeaux mixture become strongly adhesive, sticky and efficient. Even after proper dilution with water, the solution contains gelatinous precipitate and does not settle down. Due to the formation of emulsion, the copper exists as uniform sized particles. The relatively insoluble precipitate in Bordeaux mixture and the insoluble copper therein becomes transformed into more part soluble copper. The mechanism for the transformation becomes more effective in oil based formulation than in aqueous medium due to the reason that the leaves on which the mixture is sprayed exert a solvent action on the adhering emulsified particle.

The fungus itself is responsible for the production of soluble copper form emulsion by which fungus is finally get poisoned. The hydroxyl group present in fungus form H-bond with Neem oil thereby inhibiting spore germination and death of fungus takes place. Thus oil based Bordeaux mixture sprayed on leaves protect them more from fungus: Therefore the interpretation is that the fungus spores exert solvent action on colloidal particle of emulsion, bringing soluble copper ion into solution in toxic levels to kill themselves or to prevent germination.

Thus the effective fungicidal action of oil based Bordeaux spray is believed to depend upon the formation of more soluble copper in ionic form. This may cause the death of fungus either directly or by its absorption into the host leaf tissues which thus become unsuitable for the spreading and establishment of the fungus. Furthermore, application of oil based Bordeaux formulation on plants has a marked physiological effect apart from the suppression of the fungus. It was found that oil based Bordeaux formulation sprayed plant leaves have longer efficient life and abnormal heavy leaf fall is reduced considerably. This can also bring about increased vigor and health to the plant and tend to yield more.

This mixture can thus be used as a fungicide, since it is an emulsion based mixture can be used as a micron spray which is very convenient with limited quantity for extensive coverage on foliage and depend on effective sticking property of the mixture and its fungicidal efficiency enhances. Conventional Bordeaux Mixture cannot be used for micron spray. Due to sticking property this formulation can be sprayed under inclement weather conditions especially when spray is immediately followed by rain and misty situations in the field. Conventional Bordeaux mixture cannot maintain this quality consistently.

Thus it is submitted that Oil based emulsified Bordeaux mixture can be stored for a longer period since an emulsion is more stable than an aqueous solution. Also with oil, copper ion remains in emulsion for a longer period, hence this formulation can be preserved.

Since this formulation is in the undiluted form, it can be easily handled and can be diluted at any time as per need for spraying on leaves either with a rocker sprayer or a micron sprayer. The mixture can be made by dissolving Bordeaux paint the proportion of one litre with 50 litres of good water and stirring the liquid vigorously while spraying.

The ready to use Bordeaux Mixture is capable of being used for upto twelve months from the date of manufacture. While using the suspension, the same should be vigorously stirred keeping its fungicidal activity to better the instantly prepared Bordeaux Mixture and the phytotoxicity is lower in this mixture than the correspondingly freshly prepared aqueous Bordeaux Mixture. The Bordeaux Mixture made out of this invention thus has have enhanced weatherability and stability, less phytotoxicity as compared to the conventional Bordeaux mixture.

IV. Summary of the Invention:

This invention pertains to the formation and stabilization of Bordeaux paint and Bordeaux mixture, comprising of Copper Sulphate mono, Quick Lime as Calcium Oxide and an emulsifier and a detergent; wherein the Copper Sulphate mono is pulverized to a fine granular form to which pure water is added. This Copper Sulphate paste is then ground to a pure paste and added to a ground paste pure lime and emulsified neem oil while stirring vigorously. To the resultant mix is added some detergent dissolved in water and the resultant mixture is to be stored and is a stable composition which could be used upto 12 months from the date of , manfacture and is the aim of this invention.

This stable compostion of emulsified neem oil, detergent, water and the conventional Bordeaux Mixture, has a prolonged shelf life of upto twelve months and also enhanced efficacy and weatherability due to the presence of oil in water emulsion.The Sedimentary effects of the Bordeaux mixture is reduced substantially and the mixture made out of this process is more stable, less polluting, is a fungicide, as a bactericide and has less phytotoxicity than the conventional Bordeaux Paint/Mixture.

V. Chemical Analysis results of the Copper Sulphate and Quick Lime used in the preparation of this product under invention.

Hydrated Lime(Calcium Oxide) used to make the Ready to use Bordeaux Mixture.
Copper Sulphate purity as Sulphate of copper -98%
Copper percent by Mass - 25% above
(A-2.1 of IS:261 - 1982 (reaffirmed 1999)
Available lime as Ca (OH)2 % by mass IS 1514 : 1990 -91.7%
Calcium Oxide as CaO% by Mass (IS1514 : 1990) Reaffirmed: 1996 -69.4%
Magnesium Oxide % by Mass (IS 1514 : 1990) Reaffirmed : 1996 - 0.62%
Arsenic as As2O3mg/kg -l0mg/kg(A.7ofIS: 206-1982 and IS-.2088-1971)
Lead as Pb -1.84ppm

VI. Brief description of the drawings:
Fig: 1 Soap molecule - Aggregation of RC00" ions to form a micelle. Soap is sodium salt of higher fatty acid and may be represented as R C OONa. When dissolved in water, it dissociates into RCOO" and Na+ ions. The R COO" ions, however, consist of two parts ie non-polar long hydrocarbon chain, R called the "tail" which is hydrophobic (water repelling) and the Polar group COO" called the "head" which is hydrophilic (water loving). In R COO" ion the hydrocarbon part points towards the Centre and the COO" part outwards, forming micelles.

Fig:2 Soap is an emulsifier. A molecule of soap consists of two parts, the hydrocarbon part (C15 H31, C17 H35- etc) which is soluble in oil and the Polar group (COO) which is soluble in water containing Cu2+ ion.

Fig 3: Oil forming an emulsion with water containing Cu2+ion. The Solid circle represents the Polar group and the COO" wavy line represents the non-polar group R. When the emulsified neem oil is present in the current invention, the R part of the Soap remains in the oil and the COO" Cu2+ part remains in the water as shown.

VII. Preferred Embodiment:

The Process detailed herein below is only to be construed as an example and is not to be limited in any manner.

Example 1

Take 1.2kg of Copper Sulphate powder slightly converted into mono nature from pentahydrate nature and prepare a mix adding water little by little. Take 900gms of pure lime (Calcium oxide) of 100 mesh and again spray water on it to make it into a creamy mix. Using a suitable wet grinder, the lime is mixed with emulsified neem oil diluted with pure water. While grinding is continuing, add the Copper Sulphate mix. Proper stirring is required during this process. Once again pour the remaining emulsified neem oil mixed in water of about 2 liters. Grinding and blending has to be done simultaneously. Finally a certain quantity of soap bars are to be completely dissolved in water to make a creamy mix. Pour this creamy soap mix into the wet grinder for further grinding. All the mixes are together ground properly with the bare minimum sediments and an emulsified ready to use Bordeaux Mixture/ Paint is available. This mixture is converted into ready to use

Bordeaux Mixture by diluting the mixture with pure water according to the need of the agriculturist. This need is ascertained considering the factors like preventive application; nature of the foliage; the climatic conditions like humidity, monsoons etc.; the age of the plant, the type of the plant; the nature of the disease etc. However, the inventor suggest out of technical reasons and experience in the field application, the recommended proportion is maximum dilution of one litre of Bordeaux mixture with fifty litres of water.

Process flow of preparing this Ready to Use Bordeaux Mixture.

Pure Copper Sulphate mono powder of 100 mesh and 1.2 Kg by weight is dissolved in 21itres of water to form a paste. The water is added little by little.

900gms of Quick Lime (pure Calcium Oxide) powder of 100 mesh is sprinkled with water (upto 3 litres) in a wet grinder and ground to a creamy paste for about ....minutes.
2.51itres of Neem Oil to be diluted with 2.51itres of water and an emulsion is to be prepared.

To the creamy paste of Calcium Oxide is now added the emulsified Neem Oil and the mixture is ground in the wet grinder. While the grinding is being done, Copper Sulphate paste is now added to this resultant mix of Lime and emulsified Neem oil and stirred for 30 minutes.

Finally dissolve l000gms of detergent mixed in 2 litres of water to make a creamy mix. This creamy detergent mix is now poured into the mixture of Copper Sulphate, Quick Lime and Neem Oil for further grinding and after 30 minutes of grinding, the stable Bordeaux Mixture as claimed by this invention is ready.

Claims:

I Claim

1. A process for the manufacture of a stable Bordeaux mixture in emulsion form consisting of a paste of Copper Sulphate mono with water, ground paste of pure lime and emulsified oil and a detergent solution, wherein pure lime is made into a creamy paste in a wet grinder to which emulsified oil is added for further grinding; the paste of Copper Sulphate is added to the wet grinder for further grinding and with continuous stirring; finally adding detergent dissolved in water to the ground paste for further grinding; resulting in an emulsified Bordeaux mixture, with enhanced shelf life, more dispersability and improved weatherability.

2. The paste of Copper Sulphate as claimed in Claim 1, is obtained by pounding
Copper Sulphur Monohydrate into a powder form wherein the granules are the size
100 mesh and spraying the said granules with pure water in the ratio 1.2 to 3 litre and grinding the resultant mixture into a creamy paste.

3. The emulsified oil as claimed in Claim 1 comprises of Neem oil and pure 1 Water mixed in the proportion of 21/2 to 4 litre.

4. The detergent solution as claimed in Claim 1 comprises of dissolving detergent in water in the proportion 900 gms to 4 litre.

5. The detergent dissolved in water as claimed in Claim 1 comprises of Sodium salt of higher fatty acid; represented as R COONa sodium stearate, CH3(CH2)16 COO- Na+, Sodium palmitate, C15H31 COO Na, etc.

6. A molecule of the detergent as claimed in Claim 1, consists of two parts, the hydrocarbon part (C15 H31, C17 H35- etc) which is soluble in oil and the Polar group (COO) which is soluble in water containing Cu2+ ion, leading to reduced interfacial tension between oil and water thus forming a stable emulsion; leading to enhanced shelf life.

7. The emulsified Bordeaux mixture as claimed in Claim 1 has a shelf life of twelve months from the date of manufacture.

8. The detergent solution that is added to the mixture as claimed in Claim 1 prevents the deposition of sediments thus leading to easy dispersability.

9. The emulsified oil as claimed in Claim 1, leads to higher adhesive properties of the mixture thus resulting in higher weatherability.

10. An emulsified Bordeaux Mixture as manufactured by any one of the preceding claims.

11. The pH of the emulsified Bordeaux mixture as claimed in Claim 9 is 11 to 12.

12. The colour of the emulsified Bordeaux Mixture as claimed in Claim 9 is greenish blue.