USE OF A VAPORIZABLE COMPOSITION TO PROTECT CULTIVATED
PLANTS FROM PESTS
The present invention relates to the use of a vaporizable composition for
protecting 5 cultivated plants during their growth from pests. The vaporizable
composition for protecting these plants has acaricidal, insecticidal and fungicidal
characteristics but non–toxic for human persons and the environment. This
composition is typically noxious toward pests formed for example by organisms such
as oidium or « botrytis », or further insects such as aphids, whiteflies or further mites.
10 Nowadays, it is customary to practice extensive cultivation of plants in
greenhouses, regardless of whether these are flowers, vegetables, fruit, or further
green plants. From among cultivated flowers, there are roses, chrysanthemums,
tulips, alstroemerias, hydrangeas, foliage plants, lilies of the valley or further
carnations. For fruit and vegetables, there are for example, tomatoes, melons and
15 peppers. This cultivation method, in a controlled atmosphere and environment, for
example confined in greenhouses, promotes development of these pests which are
and prove to be a real plague for farmers.
In order to control this type of disease or massive infestation of the cultures,
insecticides, acaricides and fungicides of an industrial chemical formulation are used,
20 some of which proved to be toxic for the users. It appeared very rapidly that spraying
cultures with these products may be noxious for the health of farm workers present in
the greenhouses. Indeed vapours subsist after spraying the cultures and it is
recommended to wait for some time before again penetrating the greenhouses. These
products are also highly noxious for the environment, by direct and an indirect
25 pollution of water of the water tables supplied by rainwater and water run–off flows
from plantations as a result of sprayings.
Further it was noticed that these organisms and/or insects and/or mites may
develop resistance to these products over time. In order to thwart this pest resistance,
one is forced to use increasing amounts of these products, for example by increasing
30 their concentration in the water. However, this increase tends to increase the
resistance level of the pest as well as the risk of plant toxicity of the dispersions
containing these products.
In order to control these pests, spraying with horticultural oils, considered as
less toxic to plants, has been practiced. Thus, aqueous emulsions containing from 0.3
35 to 0.5% by weight of these horticultural oils were excellent means for treating
infections by oidium of roses and for limiting arrival of the disease by the sprayings
accomplished every 7 to 15 days. This spraying also gave the possibility of
maintaining the level of mite populations below the economical impact threshold at a
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dose of 0.5% by weight when the treatments had begun before attaining this
threshold for the species (see, for example, the article of O.Nicetic, D.M.Watson and
G.A.C.Beattie in Spray oils beyond 2000 from page 387 to page 395). By
horticultural oils or HMO, are meant mineral oils for which the percentage of non–
5 sulfonated products determined by the ASTM D483 standard is greater than 92% by
weight. This content of non–sulfonated product is a very important characteristic
since it determines the more or less plant–toxic nature of an oil. For example, it is
known that the higher the amount of non–sulfonated residues, the less it is toxic to
plants, i.e. toxic for cultures upon recurrent spraying.
10 Generally, it is always necessary to limit or even suppress the use of
products for which the plant–toxic nature becomes too significant, for example when
their concentration is increased in water in order to obtain optimum efficiency
against pests. This is why products are sought for which the plant–toxic nature is
quasi zero for maximum efficiency for the curative and preventive aspects of
15 diseases on plants and flowers related to the presence of the pests.
Extensive cultivation of plants, in particular of flowers intended for export
is a very important market for flower producing countries such as for example certain
countries of Latin America, Africa and Europe. In this case, the major problem is to
maintain the flowers in perfect health from the beginning of the growth up to the
20 point of sale, mainly on the European and American markets. It is particularly
important for these flowers to protect them from all the pests.
The object of the present invention is therefore to have available non–
phytotoxic products, easily dispersed as an emulsion in water before being sprayed
on cultures for the period of growth of the plant. Generally, the dispersion of these
25 products aims at covering the stem and young leaves of the plant.
The object of the present invention is therefore the use of an oil emulsion
for acaricidal, insecticidal and antifungal treatment of the stems and leaves of a plant
during its growth in confined intensive culture spaces, the emulsion comprising
water and a paraffinic oil of petroleum origin with a boiling temperature comprised
30 between 200 and 450°C, and a viscosity of less than or equal to 20 mm2/s at 40°C
and for which the non–sulfonated residue content according to the ASTM D483
standard is greater than or equal to 95%. The paraffinic oil is introduced as an
emulsifiable concentrate comprising water.
In a preferred embodiment, the paraffinic oil has a content of non–
35 sulfonated residue according to the ASTM D483 greater than or equal to 99% and an
initial distillation temperature of 250°C.
By paraffinic oil is meant an oil obtained by dearomatization/fractionation
of at least one hydrocarbon cut obtained by distillation of crude oil, with a cut
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temperature comprised between 250 and 450°C and/or an oil from catalytic oil–
dewaxing of the same cuts, this oil having a boiling interval of less than or equal to
75°C. For the oil obtained after dearomatization/fractionation, these may be
atmospheric and/or vacuum distillation cuts at temperatures comprised between 250
and 5 450°C, from coking and/or viscoreduction of residues. These hydrocarbon cuts
will preferably be desulfurized to less than 15 ppm of sulfur either by
hydrotreatment, or by hydrocracking before being dearomatized and fractionated in
order to attain distillation interval cuts of less than or equal to 75°C between 250 and
450°C, containing less than 500 ppm of aromatics. The preferred paraffinic oil
10 comprises a hydrocarbon cut or a mixture of hydrocarbon cuts with an initial
distillation temperature of at least 250°C, comprising at least 20% by weight of
mono- and/or poly–cyclic naphthenes and for which the viscosity is comprised
between 5 and 20mm2/s at 40°C. Advantageously, the paraffinic oil has a viscosity
comprised between 7 and 15 mm2/s at 40°C.
15 In a first embodiment of the use according to the invention, the emulsified
water to be dispersed comprises at the most 10% by weight of paraffinic oil,
preferably from 0.5% and 10% by weight and more preferentially from 1 to 10% by
weight of oil.
In a second embodiment of the use according to the invention, the
20 emulsified water to be dispersed comprises at most 5% by weight of paraffinic oil,
preferably from 0.1% to 5% by weight and more preferentially from 0.3 to 3% by
weight of oil.
In a particular embodiment, the oil emulsion comprises in a mixture with
paraffinic oil, surfactants, as a stable emulsifiable concentrate comprising water, for
25 stabilizing the emulsion prepared before spraying the cultures and during the whole
period of the latter.
Among the surfactants used for stabilizing the emulsion, surfactants are
preferred from the group formed by polyethoxylated oleic acids comprising up to 10,
preferably from 4 to 8, ethoxylated radicals, sorbitan mono- and/or poly–
30 carboxylates, ethoxylated sorbitan mono- and/or poly–carboxylates and/or
ethoxylated glycerol mono- and/or poly–carboxylates, each carboxylate group
comprising 1 to 3 carbonaceous chains with 12 to 20 carbon atoms with at least one
olefinic bond, each ethoxylated group comprising from 1 to 5 ethoxylated groups and
the ethoxylated alcohols corresponding to said acids.
35 The ratio of the concentrations of the whole of the introduced surfactants
and of the oil varies from 0.1:100 to 5:100.
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Preferably, the oil and the surfactants are introduced into the dispersion
water as a stable emulsifiable concentrate comprising from 0.0001 to 1% by weight
of water.
The advantage of using such paraffinic oils optionally in a mixture with
surfactants 5 is that they are not phytotoxic for the plant and the environment and the
contemplated concentrations are more than 1% by weight in water. In particular,
there are no toxic vapors which force the farm workers to wait for the whole of the
latter to fall before entering the greenhouses after spraying the cultures with the
emulsion. Further, the results with regard to the treatment of pests (mites, insects and
10 fungal organisms) are also good or even better than those obtained with chemical
products, conventional pesticides, fungicides and insecticides from the chemical
industry. Further, no development of resistance to these paraffinic oils is observed as
this was observed for these products, the action being purely physical unlike the
customarily used conventional products.
15 Further, as compared with emulsions of horticultural oils, emulsions based
on the paraffinic oil according to the invention are less phytotoxic, the non–
sulfonated residue content of these oils being much greater than 92%. This
characteristic further gives the possibility of increasing the oil concentration of the
emulsion to be dispersed beyond 1% by weight in water which gives the possibility
20 of obtaining optimum efficiency towards pests without attaining a phytotoxicity
threshold, but also of reducing the time between two treatments if required.
The object of the present invention is also a method for acaricidal,
insecticidal and fungicidal treatment of plant cultures in a controlled and confined
atmosphere comprising:
25 - at least one first step for emulsifying in water a paraffinic oil of petroleum
origin with a temperature comprised between 200 and 450°C, with a viscosity of less
than or equal 20 mm2/s at 40°C and comprising more than 20% by weight of monoand
poly–naphthenic hydrocarbons, optionally in a mixture with surfactants and an
amount of water of less than or equal to 1%,
30 - at least one second step for spraying the emulsion obtained in the
preceding step on the stem and leaves of the plant before its blooming, this spraying
being repeated at least every 7 days after the first dispersion step, during the whole
period of growth, preferably at least every 15 days until blooming.
According to the nature of the treatment to be applied and to the pest
35 concentration on the plants, it may be possible to adjust the concentration of
paraffinic oil in water to at least 0.1% by weight in water, more preferentially to
more than 0.3% by weight, and preferably to less than 5% by weight. Preferably, the
paraffinic oil concentration may be adjusted to more than 1% in water, more
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particularly between 1 and 2%, this concentration giving the possibility of
advantageously increasing the time spent between two spraying campaigns in the
greenhouses.
The examples hereafter are given for illustrating the invention i.e. for
illustrating the efficiency of the invention comparatively with the prior art. 5 t. Their
purpose is not to limit the scope of the present invention.
EXAMPLE 1 (treatment of mites)
The present example is directed to demonstrating the efficiency of the
10 paraffinic oil according to the invention as an emulsion in water as compared with
that of acaricidal products customarily used in greenhouses for controlling mites in
particular Tetranychus cinnabarinnus or red spider, on rose cultures in greenhouses.
Tests were conducted in five greenhouses. In each of them, 10 cultivation
beds separated by alleys were delimited. Each bed comprises a large number of floral
15 buds. During the tracking of the beds intended for the test, a significant infestation
level of Tetranychus cinnabarinnus was detected, i.e. the presence of eggs, nymphs
and adults. Each of the beds is then treated with a different emulsion by means of a
piece of spraying equipment comprising a stationary piston pump, sold under the
name of Robin MS 330 Eurogroup pump equipped with two hoses and six nozzles.
20 These nozzles (Tee Jet 8001vk) are calibrated so as to send 1 liter per minute of
emulsion, from 7 to 9 liters per bed, in the form of 500 micron droplets over 30 to 40
centimeters of foliage height.
The program of the test includes four different treatments including Banole
EC as well as comparisons of commercial treatments.
25 In Table 1 is gathered the description of the emulsions and solutions sprayed
on the foliages of the flowers during the tests giving the possibility of comparing the
efficiency of the product according to the invention with the commercial acaricidal
products used. The product corresponding to the emulsions according to the
invention has the following composition:
30 - 97% of paraffinic oil containing at least 20% of naphthenes and at least
30% of isoparaffinic compounds with a viscosity equal to 8.5 mm2/s and
containing 99% of non–sulfonated residues.
- 3% by weight of a mixture of surfactants
This product is sold under the trade name of Banole EC.
35
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TABLE I
Treatment
order
Nature of the
product
Product
amount in the
emulsion
(wt%)
Amount of
sprayed
water
(l/ha)
Application rate
A Banole EC 1 1700 8l/bed of 50 m2
B Banole EC 1.5 1700 8l/bed of 50 m2
C Control 0 1700 8l/bed of 50 m2
D Commercial
acaricidal product
(CAP)
X 1700 8l/bed of 50 m2
E Banole EC + CAP 1 + X 1700 8l/bed of 50 m2
Table II gathers a description of the acaricidal products either tested alone
or in a mixture 5 xture (1+X) with the product of the invention.
TABLE II
Treatment Nature of the product Product amount
X in the emulsion
(l/ha)
Application rate
D1 Miteclean (pyrimediphen) 0.3 8l/bed of 50 m2
D2 Polo+Oberon
(diafentiuron+Spiromesifen)
1+0.25 8l/bed of 50 m2
D3 Miteclean (pyrimediphen) 0.3 8l/bed of 50 m2
E1 Miteclean (pyrimediphen) 0.3 8l/bed of 50 m2
E2 Polo+Oberon
(diafentiuron+Spiromesifen
1+0.25 8l/bed of 50 m2
E3 Miteclean (pyrimediphen) 0.3 8l/bed of 50 m2
10 The commercial products (Di) are prepared and applied as indicated by the
vendor of the product. The emulsion prepared with a product according to the
invention consists of introducing the product in water and of mixing it for three
minutes. When the emulsion additionally contains an acaricide (Ei), the product
according to the invention is introduced last into the emulsion.
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An observation of the beds is carried out every week, but always three or
four days after spraying. During the spraying of the product according to the
invention, the emulsion remains stable and homogeneous, and the leaves treated with
this product do not show any of the conventional sensitivity or toxicity symptoms
5 and any change in aspect.
In Table III are gathered the results as seen with the different treatments on
the initially present eggs and adults on the leaves.
10 TABLE III
TreatmentEggs Adults
D1 D2 D3 D4 Avg. D1 D2 D3 D4 Avg.
A 53 359 10 0 21.1 44 79 8 0 6.55
B 71 0 0 0 3.55 41 18 0 0 2.95
E1 115 428 0 0 27.15 43 52 0 0 4.75
D1 18 396 0 0 20.7 22 28 0 0 2.5
C 512 1295 2400 1378 298 121 829 465 266 65.5
The observations were made every seven days from D1 (first day of
observation).
15 The control C and the visual observation show the presence of Tetranychus
cinnabarinnus or red spiders under the aspect of a brown portion of the leaf and of
whitish residues.
After a few days of treatment, the newly appeared leaves no longer have the
characteristics related to the presence of these parasitic plagues. The eggs and the
20 adults disappear from the leaves with time.
According to Table III, it is seen that the product according to the invention
diluted to 1% and to 1.5% in water is as efficient as the customarily used acaricides.
It is likely that with the product according to the invention, there is suffocation of the
mites.
25
EXAMPLE 1 (treatment of rose oidium, Sphaeroteca panosa)
The present example is directed to showing the efficiency of the paraffinic
oil according to the invention as an emulsion in water as compared with that of
fungicidal products customarily used in greenhouses for controlling Sphaeroteca
30 panosa (fungus), in particular rose oidium on rose cultures in greenhouses.
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One operates like in Example 1 for applying the insecticides and the product
according to the invention which as previously is Banole EC.
A description of the treatments carried out is given in Table IV hereafter.
5 TABLE IV
Treatment
order
Nature of the
product
Product amount
in the emulsion
(%wt.)
Amount of
poured water
(l/ha)
Application rate
A’ Banole EC 1 1700 8l/bed of 50 m2
D’ Commercial
fungicidal
product
Y 1700 8l/bed of 50 m2
Two commercial products were tested as a comparison: their conditions of
use are given in Table V hereafter.
10
TABLE V
Treatment Nature of product Product amount Y
in the emulsion
(l/ha)
Application rate
D’1 Sodium bicarbonate 2 8l/bed of 50 m2
D’2 Elosal(sulfur) 4 8l/bed of 50 m2
The different emulsions are emulsified and dispersed as described in
15 Example 1 with the same type of equipment.
As previously in Example 1, during the spraying of the product according to
the invention, the emulsion remains stable and homogeneous. And the leaves treated
with this product do not exhibit any of the conventional sensitivity or toxicity
symptoms and any change in aspect.
20 Table VI hereafter gives the results on the incidence of oidium on batches
either treated with Banole EC or with commercial fungicides.
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TABLE VI
Treatment Observation
1
Observation
2
Observation
3
Observation
4
Average
(a)
A’ 30* 7* 0* 0* 0.2887
D’ 30* 5* 0* 0* 0.3118
*: Number of symptoms per plant
(a): average obtained over the 5 e whole of the performed observations during the test.
Although the average of the number of symptoms observed during the test is
less in the Banole EC treatment as compared with the commercial fungicide
treatment, a multiple rank statistic comparison at a confidence level of 95% (Fischer)
10 suggests that the control was similar among the fungicidal treatments. The paraffinic
mineral oil Banole EC applied at a dose of 1% by volume of spray was efficient, by
inhibiting the development of the fungus responsible for oidium.
Banole EC oil has a series of characteristics which make it efficient in
controlling diseases of plants, which explains its favorable response on the symptoms
15 of this disease. The most important aspect is the fungistatic action from which
paraffinic mineral oils benefit. In the case of Sphaeroteca panosa, this action
explains the blocking of the development of the mycelium of the fungus. Moreover,
the persistence and toughness of the product facilitate its permanency on the foliage
and may improve its fungistatic effect, while interfering with the gas exchange
20 processes of the pathogenic agent.
Commercial products other than Banole EC may be used in the application of
the invention, such as Ovispray marketed by TOTAL.
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CLAIMS
1. The use of an oil emulsion for acaricidal, insecticidal and anti–fungal
treatment of stems and leaves of a plant during its growth in confined intensive
culture spaces, characterized in that the emulsion 5 ulsion comprises water and a paraffinic oil
of petroleum origin with a boiling temperature comprised between 200 and 450°C,
with a viscosity of less than or equal to 20 mm2/s at 40°C, for which the non–
sulfonated residue content according to the ASTM D483 standard is greater than or
equal to 99%, and comprising at least 20% by weight of mono- or poly–cyclic
10 naphthenes, said paraffinic oil being introduced as a stable emulsifiable concentrate
comprising water.
2. The use according to claim 1, characterized in that the paraffinic oil has
an initial distillation temperature of 250°C.
15
3. The use according to one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the
paraffinic oil was obtained by dearomatisation/fractionation of at least one
hydrocarbon cut obtained by the distillation of crude oil, coking and/or visco–
reduction of a residue with a cut temperature comprised between 250 and 450°C
20 and/or by catalytic dewaxing of these same cuts, this paraffinic oil having a boiling
interval of less than or equal to 75°C.
4. The use according one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the
paraffinic oil comprises a hydrocarbon cut or a mixture of hydrocarbon cuts with an
25 initial distillation temperature of at least 250°C, and for which the viscosity is
comprised between 5 and 20 mm2/s.
5. The use according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that
said paraffinic oil comprises less than 15 ppm of sulfur and less than 500 ppm of
30 aromatics.
6. The use according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that
the oil emulsion comprises in a mixture with paraffinic oil as a stable emulsifiable
concentrate, surfactants from the group formed by polyethoxylated oleic acids
35 comprising up to 10 ethoxylated radicals, preferably from 4 to 8, sorbitan monoand/
or poly–carboxylates, ethoxylated sorbitan mono- and/or poly- carboxylates
and/or ethoxylated glycerol mono- and/or poly–carboxylates, each carboxylate group
comprising 1 to 3 carbonaceous chains of 12 to 20 carbon atoms with at least one
11
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olefinic bond, each ethoxylated group comprising from 1 to 5 ethoxylated groups,
and ethoxylated alcohols comparable with said acids.
7. The use according to claim 6, characterized in that the ratio of the
concentrations 5 ns of the whole of the surfactants introduced and of the oil varies from
0.1:100 to 5:100.
8. The use according to one of claims 6 and 7, characterized in that the
paraffinic oil and the surfactants are introduced into the water as an emulsifiable
10 concentrate comprising from 0.0001 to 1% by weight of water.
9. The use according to one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that the
emulsion consists of 90 to 99.5% by weight of water and of 10 to 0.5% of a
paraffinic oil as an emulsifiable concentrate, preferably of 97 to 99% by weight of
15 water and of 0.5 to 3% of paraffinic oil.
10. A method for acaricidal, fungicidal and insecticidal treatment of plant
cultures in a confined and controlled atmosphere comprising:
- at least one step for emulsifying in the water a paraffinic oil of petroleum
20 origin with a temperature comprised between 200 and 450°C, with a viscosity of less
than or equal to 20 mm2/s and comprising more than 20% by weight of mono- and
poly–naphthenic hydrocarbons, optionally in a mixture with surfactants and an
amount of water of less than or equal to 1%,
- at least one second step for spraying the emulsion obtained in the preceding
25 step on the stem and leaves of the plant before its blooming, this dispersion being
repeated at least every 7 days after the first spraying during the whole period of the
growth, preferably at least every 15 days until blooming.
11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that the concentration
30 of paraffinic oil introduced as a stable emulsifiable concentrate in water is greater
than 0.5% and less than 10% by weight, preferably greater than 0.5% and less than
5% by weight.
12. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that the concentration
35 of paraffinic oil introduced as a stable emulsifiable concentrate in water is greater
than 0.1% and less than 5% by weight, preferably greater than 0.3% and less than 5%
by weight.
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13. The method according to any of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that the
concentration of paraffinic oil in the water is comprised between 1 and 2% by
weight.