There are numerous ways in which adjuvants can be classified, such as spray modifiers, utility adjuvants, and activator adjuvants, the latter being those that enhance absorption. Adjuvants can also be classified by their chemistry, such as nonylphenol ethoxylates or organosilicones, and by their source, such as methylated seed oils and paraffinic mineral oils. The flurry of activity in recent years has focused on those adjuvants that increase the activity of postemergence herbicides primarily by being added to the spray tank. Some of the factors in research, development, and marketing of adjuvants fueling and directing this activity are as follows. The growth of the adjuvant market reflects the shift in agriculture from till to no-till and preemergence to postemergence herbicides.
Adjuvant sales can be profitable at the dealer level.
Herbicide manufacturers appear interested in this profit by incorporating the activator adjuvants into containers with the active ingredient. The later action can also be interpreted as assuring that there is a good match between adjuvant and active ingredient. At another level, distributors and dealers desire private labels for adjuvants they market. Some of this has given rise to what might be considered a band-wagon result in marketing and account for some of the proliferation of products containing methylated seed oils or organosilicones. Interest in replacing petroleum oil derivatives in adjuvants with value- added agricultural commodity products has spawned considerable research, development, and marketing effort.