INSECTICIDE COMPOSITION

Abstract: An insecticide composition and a method of combating vermin and insects on plants are described. The insecticide composition comprises, as an active ingredient, a combination of a divalent or polyvalent alcohol and a film-forming agent. Optionally, the composition also comprises a carrier and/or a nutrient. Vermin and insects on plants are combated by applying to the plants an aqueous solution of the insecticide composition.

Description: INSECTICIDE COMPOSITION The present invention relates to an insecticide com¬ position and a method of combating vermin and insects on plants by applying to the plants an aqueous solution of the insecticide composition. With an increasing knowledge of the harmful effects in nature which are caused by remainders of insecticides, the need for a non-poisonous insecticide has become in- creasingly pronounced. Non-poisonous in the sense here used means that the insecticide should not be poisonous to anything but the vermin and insects which are to combated. Large quantities of poisonous insecticides are sprayed every year on farms, in vegetable gardening, on fruit farms etc. This means that for the purpose of increasing the har¬ vest yield, poison is deliberately sprayed on foodstuffs. To reduce the harmful effects, limits are set for the amount of residual poison which is allowed to remain in the foodstuff when ready to be consumed. These limits are fre- quently subjective values, since it is difficult to sci¬ entifically establish limits for the amounts of insecticide that are harmless to people and animals. In most cases, there is a limit set for each insecticide, whereas there are no limits for the total amount of different insecti- cides that is to be found on or in the cultured products. The amounts of insecticides which are not absorbed by the crops involved are washed off by rain-water and col¬ lected in the subsoil water or are spread in lakes and watercourses. A known, so-called non-poisonous insecticide composi¬ tion comprises gelatin as a gel- and/or film-forming agent along wit ~ ι a tenside mixture (see SE patent publication 461,495). Gelatin solutions of this known type have several drawbacks. They can be attacked by iron and copper, which causes discolorations. Moreover, the gelatin solution can be decomposed under the action of microorganisms which damage the surroundings as the preparation is applied to the plant. High temperatures and/or low pH values also affect the gelatin in a decomposing manner. The known gelatin composition therefore must be handled under extreme hygienic conditions which can be difficult to create. The object of the present invention is to provide an insecticide composition acting mechanically, without the above-mentioned drawbacks. This object is achieved by means of an insecticide composition which comprises, as an active ingredient, a divalent or polyvalent alcohol in combination with a film- forming agent and, optionally, a carrier and/or a nutrient. The invention also includes a method of combating ver¬ min and insects on plants by applying to the plants an aqueous solution of the insecticide composition. The ingredients included in the composition according to the invention are innocuous to people and animals other than the vermin and insects which are to combated. Nor do they constitute a danger if they are spread in lakes and watercourses or reach the subsoil water. Further, the in- gredients are biodegradable. The composition is - also in the dried-up state - water-soluble and can thus be washed down from the treated plant after a suitable period of treatment. This is of great value both from the aesthetic and from the psycholo- gical point of view. The insecticide composition according to the inventio is prepared in solid form to be dissolved in water before being used. By preparing the composition in solid form, suitably in the form of flakes, great advantages are ob- tained. The packing will be easy, and the insecticide take up a very small volume in stock and in shops and also at the consumer's place. No water need be transported, which makes the distribution inexpensive. Nor is there a need fo expensive packings in the form of bottles or the like, but the insecticide can be simply packed in e.g. plastic bags on which instructions for the use cf the composition are printed. As an alternative, the composition can be formed into tablets which are packeted in so-called blisterpacks. Also in this case, the weight will be minimal and the transport expenses very small. In the solid form, the insecticide can also conveniently be distributed by mail. A further alternative is to supply the product in th form of a concentrate in an aqueous solution to be mixed with water to a solution ready to use. The actual insecticide ingredient in the composition is the divalent or polyvalent alcohol. By the combination with the film-forming agent, the alcohol produces a suffi¬ ciently long effect to cause almost all vermin and insects on the treated plant to be killed. The divalent or polyvalent alcohol acts in the com¬ bination also by delaying the drying time of the film- forming agent. Thus, it is the combination of the two ingredients that develops the excellent effect of the composition according to the invention. The divalent or polyvalent alcohol is preferably selected among glycerol, mono-, di- and triethylene glycol and polyalkene glycol having a molecular weight of ≤ 1000. The film-forming agent preferably is a water-soluble cellulose ether or a polyuronic acid or a salt thereof. At present, carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) is preferred. There have been experiments with treatment against plant-lice, mite, white flies, scabies, grasshoppers, slug and also forest insects, such as pith beetles and bark beetles. About 6 h after applying the composition accordin to the invention, 100% of the vermin and insects were dead The composition according to the invention preferably also comprises a carrier. As carriers, mention can be made of sodium hydroxide, sulphonic acid, ethanol, methyl- /ethylparaben, sodium laurylether sulphate, oxoalcohol ethoxylate, urea, coconut fatty acid diethanolamide. These can partly be used alone or in combination. The carriers have a binding, emulsifying, surface tension reducing, stabilising and/or preserving effect. To make it possible for a damaged plant quickly to recover after an insect invasion, the composition according to the invention should suitably contain a nutrient in the form of a complete fertiliser in suitable proportions. As a result, the plant is protected against, inter alia, drying. The composition is prepared by heating and mixing the ingredients included and kneading the mixture to a homoge¬ neous paste. The paste is cooled and can subsequently be ground into flakes and then packed, for example in plastic bags. The paste can also be compressed into tablets and packeted in blisterpacks. The composition can also be dissolved in hot water to a concentrate in liquid form, which is then packed in some suitable manner. The amounts of the ingredients included can be select¬ ed within wide limits. The lower limit of the amount of di¬ valent or polyvalent alcohol in relation to the film- forming agent is determined by the desired delay of the drying of the film-forming agent. Suitable proportions are 40-90 parts by weight of the alcohol and 10-50 parts by weight of the film-forming agent per 100 parts by weight of the combination of these ingredients. A preferred range is 45-85 parts by weight of the alcohol and 15-55 parts by weight of the film-forming agent. The invention will be illustrated in more detail by means of the Examples below which are not intended to re¬ strict the invention as defined in the claims. Example 1 A composition that can be used for preparing flakes was mixed from the following ingredients: Ingredient % by weight g 400 The ingredients were heated ancl kneaded together and then ground into flakes. The ingredients can also be compressed into tablets. By mixing e.g. 400 g of the composition with 600 g of water, a concentrate is obtained, which can then be diluted to a suitable concentration before being used. The above flake-formed composition is suitably dosed as follows: 5 g/1: as a preventive agent against insects on pot- plants at home. 10 g/1: for commercial use against insects in green¬ houses, in fields and in dwelling-houses. 15 g/1: for treating fruit farms, bushes, fruit trees and in farming. 20-30 g/1: for spraying ant-hills, forests, wood depots etc. In these dosages, the composition kills 100% of plant lice within 6 h. Example 2 Two compositions were mixed as described in Example 1, but the following amounts of the included ingredients were used: Ingredient Glycerol 99% CMC Carrier "NPK" By adapting the dosage the same good results are achieved in the combating of vermin, i.e. 100% killed within 6 h.

Claims: AMENDED CLAIMS [received by the International Bureau on 20 February 1992 (20.02.92); original claims 1-7 replaced by amended claims 1-4 (1 page)] 1. Insecticide composition, c h a r a c t e r ¬ i s e d in that it comprises, as active ingredients, 40-90 parts by weight of a divalent or polyvalent alcohol, selected among glycerol, mono-, di- and triethylene glycol and polyalkene glycol having a molecular weight of ≤ 1000, in combination with 10-60 parts per weight of a film-form¬ ing agent, selected among a water-soluble cellulose ether or a polyuronic acid or a salt thereof, per 100 parts by weight of the combination of divalent or polyvalent alco¬ hol and film-forming agent, and, optionally, a carrier and/or a nutrient. 2. Insecticide composition as claimed in claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that said film-forming agent is carboxymethylcellulose. 3. Insecticide composition as claimed in claim 1 or 2, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that it is present in the form av flakes or tablets, or in liquid form. 4. Method of combating vermin and insects on plants, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that an aqueos solution of an insecticide composition is applied to the plants, said composition comprising, as active ingredients, a combina¬ tion of 40-90 parts per weight of a divalent or polyvalent alcohol, selected among glycerol, mono-, di- and triethy¬ lene glycol and polyalkylene glycol having a molecular weight of ≤ 1000, and 10-60 parts per weight of a film- -forming agent, selected among a water-soluble cellulose ether or a polyuronic acid or a salt thereof, per 100 parts per weight of the combination of divalent or poly¬ valent alcohol and film-forming agent, and, optionally, a carrier and/or a nutrient.

Inventors: ALDE ALEXANDER, ALDE, ALEXANDER
Applicants: ALDE ALEXANDER, ALDE, ALEXANDER
Application year: 1991
Main classification: A01N31
IPC codes: A01N25, A01N31