Carbamate-bearing surfactants as effective adjuvants promoted the penetration of the herbicide into the plant

Novel pesticide loaded formulations were developed through amphiphile self-assembly strategy, allowing of concentrating the herbicide Lontrel in salad leaves. The structure-activity correlations were analyzed in terms of Lontrel amount taken up by plants and wetting ability of formulations. Key factors responsible for the efficacy of herbicide compositions are the structure and concentration of surfactants, time of treatment, wetting effect, and temperature. The leader position was demonstrated by the biodegradable carbamate-bearing surfactants N-[2-((butylcarbamoyl)oxy)ethyl]-N,N-dimethylalkylammonium bromides (CB-n) resulting in a threefold increase in the Lontrel content in plant within the concentration of 0.1–0.2 wt %. An increase in temperature may significantly enhance the penetration ability of the herbicide through biological barriers of plant; in this case, CB-14 analog exhibited highest transport properties compared to other test surfactants, providing the largest response to the temperature change.