Plant health compositions in the form of pellets.

The present invention provides bioactive compositions made EO effervescent granules comprising a herbicide or regulator of. growth CLIA, an alkali carbonate or bicarbonate, and optionally additives such as mold release agents, binding agents and/or fillers.

Known is the herbicide acifluorfen to-salt sodium, marketed under the brand names of Tackle and Blazer and made this 5 - i2-chloro 4 - (trifluoromethyl) phenoxy]

the sodium - 2-nitrobenzoate; 1' acifluorfen to is therefore acid 5 -|^ 2-chloro 4 - (trifluoromethyl) - 2 nitro-benzoic phénoxyJ.

In the present disclosure the compounds are termed their chemical name according to the nomenclature French, however the numerals indicating the position of the substituents are placed before these oerniers in accordance with the nomenclature anglosaxonne.

The marketed formulations for the acifluorfen-salt EO sodium are compositions comprising as main constituents water (76 %) and only about 24 % herbicide.

One aim of the invention is to provide herbicidal compositions are dry, aispersables easily in water and which contain a concentration relatively high herbicidal active material.

On this point, it should be noted that 1¹ sodium acifluorfen to-salt is hygroscopic, it is not in itself a herbicidal concentrate is commercially suitable.

Another object of the invention is. eO herbicioes provide compositions which are not in powder form. Indeed, people who apply pesticides deflect away GA increasingly compositions in the form of pouare due to SSO nuisances and the incommouity handling SSO pouares (need for a mask, dirt, andc..).

Also well known is olverses kinds pesticide granule oispersibles in water especially those termed self-dispersible granules (English "flowaoles dry fluxing"). In particular, it has been suggested effervescent granules (French patents and English 847, 37ü 2,290 844), these granules comprising at least three essential components: the active material, carbonate and acid capable EO react with carbonate.

Another object is to provide EO compositions herbicioes as simple as possible and containing a high content of active substance,

Another object of the invention is to provide dry herbicidal compositions which can easily implement SSO acitves materials such as sodium 1 'acifluorfen-salt.

It has now been found that these various goals could be attained in the compositions according to the invention.

The invention has for its object to pesticidal compositions, bioactive, and more particularly herbicidal, AEs form water soluble granules, said granules comprising 50 to 90 % in poios a herbicidal (or regulator this growth) acid and about 10 to 40 % an alkali metal carbonate or bicarbonate, especially potassium to EC preferably sodium. The amount of active material acice is preferably between 60 and 75 %. The compositions of the invention contain 0 to 10% has also optionally ' impurities of the herbicidal acid (isomers or byproducts of manufacture).

It must be understood that the term granules is not to be taken in a limited sense, and that it includes any other similarly shaped as grain, pellets, tablets.

In general these pellets have at least one dimension of between 0.1 and 50 mm, preferably between 0.3 and 3 mm.

The relative amount of herbicidally active compound with respect to the carbonate is such that the molar ratio carbonate or bicarbonate/active material is between 1 and acid 3, preferably between 1.3 and EO

The compositions may contain minor amounts (for example 0.1 to 10 %) other additives such as lubricants or mold release agents (e.g. 0.05 to 1 C/O aluminum stearate, or less), stabilizers, binders, agents promoting cohesion grains (e.g. urea or cellulose derivatives), the disintegration-promoting agents -.

The compositions of the invention can still contain O 'additives' useful for the application' a-pesticioeconsioérée. Thus, it may be necessary to add surfactants or wetting agents or dispersants or other proouit susceptible to promote the penetration of the active substance in the plant.

These agents - surfactants can be emulsifying agents, wetting or oispersant ionic or nonionic type or a mixture of such surfactants. Include for example salts of polyacrylic acids, salts has' lignosulfonic acids, polycondensates of ethylene oxide with fatty alcohols or fatty acids or fatty amines, substituted phenols (in particular alkylpnénols or arylphénols), salts of esters of O ' aclaes sulfosuccinic, taurine derivatives (particularly alkyltaurates), phosphoric esters of polyoxyethylated alcohols or phenols, fatty acid esters and polyols; functional derivatives sulfate, sulfonate, phosphate of the foregoing compounds.

Preferentially, in the compositions according to the invention, the grains-are separated from each other and their mass can flow when it is poured.

In an advantageous embodiment, the compositions of the invention do not contain any inert filler, especially any water-insoluble inert filler.

Acifluorfen is the active material particularly suitable for the invention, or can include the 5 thereof [2-chloro 4 - (trifluoromethyl) - phénoxyJ 2 nitro-n-a-AlB24C4 thanesulfonyl-to-Denzamide, 2.4 and dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, acid 2-methyl 4-chlorophenoxyacetic, 1-naphthalene acetic acid (as a growth regulator), the paraaminophénylsulfonylcarbamate methyl.

According to the present invention may be made by compression (for example using a press or a compactor) constituents so as to obtain a tablet, followed by granulation of the compact material obtained.

Obtaining slurry (solution or suspension) ready-to-use from the granules according to the invention takes place only bringing water in said granules in an amount corresponding to the concentration desired for the active material.

The c0₂ when the effervescence causes oégagé

agitation rapioe solution; this accelerates the dissolution stirring the ingredients in water and the salification acid; furthermore the use of an acid in the formulation can be incorporated into the composition a higher content of active material that when added to the salt separately: this is an advantage especially suitable oans pest management where it is desirable to manipulate the least possible amount of products.

The following examples, exemplary non-limiting, illustrate the invention and show how it can be implemented.

Example 1 :

A mixture:

- 7, 23g of acifluorfen 96% purity

eC - 1, 12g UEs anhydrous sodium carbonate in

- 0, 01g stearate of O ' aluminum. th

The assembly is ground-Cans mill Dilles glass comprising a same poics glass beads of 5 mm diameter EO. The mixture is then sieved and then compressed. The resulting pellets are crushed and then pounded in a mortar slightly, sieved and still maintaining the fraction EO 20 to 60 mesh sieve (US standard SSO sieve, the O, 25 and 0.84 mm).

These granules by adding water, there occurs a effervescence and dissolution, a clear solution is obtained ready-to-spray, except that it includes suspended particles of O stearate ' aluminum.

The mixture contains 83% to 88% equivalent herbicidal acid salt.

Example 2 :

Mixed:

the O - 7, 22g ' acifluorfen to (purity 96%)

sodium bicarbonate - 1, 85g

- 0, 01g EO aluminum stearate.

Mixture is treated as in the example 1. Upon adding water-EC GnRH obtains results equivalent to those of the example 1.

The mixture contains 76.4 ¾ of O ' herbicidal acid equivalent to 81% of salt.

Example 3 :

Mixed:

- 74.9 g has' acifluorfen to purity 80 %

- 25 g of anhydrous sodium carbonate

- 0.1 grams this aluminum stearate.

The assembly is comminuted in a mechanical mill so as to obtain particles of 3 to 50 micron "

The mixture obtained is compressed under a pressure of 20 bar by a machine that pellets " the resulting pellets are crushed, and then sieved so as to hold the seeds the size 20 to 60 mesh sieve (0.25 to 0.84 mm). These grains contain about 60% of acifluorfen equivalent has 63.6 % its sodium salt.

These granules added th water disintegrate with starting this carbon dioxide and forming sodium salt 1 'aciflucrfen-to-LEL sodium, as in the examples précéoents.

Example 4 :

one mixture :.

- 63 grams has' acifiuorfen purity 80 %

- 23 g of anhydrous sodium carbonate EO

- 0.1 g of stearate has' aluminum.

The assembly is milled to the example 3.

The mixture obtained is compressed under a pressure of 5 bar by a tablet-making machine. The resulting pellets are crushed and then screened to retain the grain size of 15 to 30 mesh size (0.5 to 1.2 mm). These grains contain 57.2 % of acifiuorfen equivalent to 60 % its sodium salt; when they are placed in water, they disintegrate perfectly and give an aqueous solution of the herbicide sodium acifluorfen to-salt.

Example 5 :

Operation is carried out as in example 3 but by replacing the 25 g of carbonate per 18 g of carbonate and 7 g urea.

Obtained granules of similar size and perfectly satisfactory in their dissolution in water.

Example 6 :

The example 3 is reproauit successively with the 5 -|2-chloro 4 - (trifluoromethyl) phenoxyJ - 2 nitro-n-a-méthanesulîony1-benzamide derivatives, the 2.4 a-dichlorophenoxyacetic acice, acid 2-methyl 4-chlorophenoxyacetic and the acioe 1-naphthalene acetic.

Obtained-e similarly granules oésagrégesnt is satisfactory and well in water.