Surfactants and the uptake and movement of paraquat in plants

Surfactants are still considered to be agents which either increase spray coverage of leaves with herbicidal solutions and/or increase herbicide penetration into the leaves. Experiments where the method of application largely eliminates leaf wetting as a factor in paraquat uptake show that this is an over-simplification. Its efficiency in the plant is influenced by penetration and most of all by the degree of movement down the plant into untreated leaves. Results on the uptake, movement and biological activity of paraquat are reported using cocksfoot and wheat. A relation is found between paraquat movement and the hydrophilic nature of the surfactant. It moves most when the number of ethylene oxide residues is less than six and it is minimal when the number is 10 to 15. Leaf penetration, however, is at a maximum when movement under the influence of surfactant is least. Partition studies in which surfactants are distributed between leaf wax and water are described. There is a direct correlation between the degree of partition of the surfactant into the wax and the degree of movement of paraquat in cocksfoot and wheat. Surfactants are essential components of a paraquat formulation to wet the leaf surface and increase penetration but, when the surfactant also penetrates into the leaf, it reduces the mobility of paraquat and hence its efficiency.