Plant protecting and regulating compositions – Fertilizers with insecticide – fungicide – disinfectant – or...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-25
2001-05-01
Clardy, S. Mark (Department: 1616)
Plant protecting and regulating compositions
Fertilizers with insecticide, fungicide, disinfectant, or...
C504S360000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06225258
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to the fields of pesticides and plant nutrients, and more particularly to pesticides and plant nutrients, combined into briquettes; the pesticides and plant nutrients exhibiting separately controllable releases throughout long periods of time. The new pesticide and plant nutrient composition comprises controlled release plant nutrient particles, and pesticides sorbed on particulate sorption solids, combined in the form of attrition and fracture resistant briquettes. The sorptive solids on which the pesticides are sorbed exhibit the ability to substantially reduce the leachability of the pesticide. The term pesticide is used herein to mean any, and all, biologically active chemicals used to beneficially treat plants, including insecticides, herbicides, algaecides, fungicides, and acaricides. The term sorb is used herein to mean absorb and/or adsorb. Typical plant nutrients of this invention are magnesium ammonium phosphate, magnesium potassium phosphate, ureaformaldehyde polymer and alkylidene diurea compounds. Typical sorption solids of this invention comprise: iron humate, silica gel, ground vegetable seed hulls, starch, wood flour, lignin, activated carbon, and paper waste.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The prior art has provided several slow release fertilizers which work by occluding soluble fertilizer materials within agglomerates bound together by water insoluble binders. For example nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and micronutrients may be bound together with ureaformaldehyde resins, or as in the case of U.S. Pat. No. 3,925,053 calcium sulfate hemihydrate may be used as a binder.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,647,416 discloses that bonded fertilizers may be produced in the form of a briquette using ureaformaldehyde resin as the binder. U.S. Pat. No. 3,024,098 also discloses a ureaformaldehyde based fertilizer which is prepared by compressing into agglomerates to provide briquettes or spikes with high resistances to crushing.
Compressed briquettes have also been prepared with improved nitrogen release when isobutylidiene diurea was the main source of nitrogen.
There has been less information in the prior art regarding controlled release of pesticides than of plant nutrients. There has been some success reported in controlling pesticide release rates when granular pesticides were coated or encapsulated with water insoluble plastics such as polyvinylchloride as in U.S. Pat. No. 3,062,637.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,174,804 a fertilizer/pesticide composition was disclosed which included a fertilizer and a pesticide admixed with a binder to form a briquette in which the fertilizer occludes the pesticide, with the briquette essentially free of water soluble materials. This briquette when placed in the soil releases nutrients and pesticides into the soil over an extended period of time.
Although U.S. Pat. No. 5,174,804 advanced the art of controlled release plant nutrients and pesticides, it did not provide a method for separate control of the release of the pesticides and the plant nutrients. It also does not provide for wide variations in the amounts of pesticide or plant nutrient materials in a briquette product.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved plant nutrient/pesticide briquette composition which releases pesticide and plant nutrients throughout a long period of time.
It is another object of this invention to provide an improved plant nutrient/pesticide briquette composition which provides plant nutrients and pesticides, the releases of which are separately controllable.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved plant nutrient/pesticide briquette composition wherein liquid pesticide is sorbed on, or in, a particulate filler to control the leaching of the pesticide from the briquette for longer periods of time.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a plant nutrient/pesticide briquette which exhibits improved physical integrity, using pesticide sorbed on pesticide sorption solids, which are coated on plant food granules by means of a thermoplastic adhesive.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved method for preparing plant nutrient/pesticide briquettes, requiring small amounts of thermoplastic adhesive.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To attain the aforementioned objects and to improve existing fertilizer/pesticide compositions of the prior art, I have discovered a composition which slowly releases both pesticides (biologically active materials) and plant nutrients throughout a long period of time. This new composition is particularly effective because a liquid biologically active material is sorbed on pesticide sorption particles which have the ability to sorb pesticides and reduce their leachability. The pesticide sorption particles and particles of slow release plant nutrients are coated with a small amount of adhesive, and then compressed to form attrition and shatter resistant briquettes. Surprisingly, the briquettes release both the liquid pesticide and the plant nutrients at slow rates, and the release rates of the biologically active materials may be independently varied by changes in the amount of, and properties of, the pesticide sorption particles, and by the amount of pesticide sorbed thereon. The slow release properties of the plant nutrients and the pesticides may be changed by variations in the amount of adhesive used in coating the slow release nutrient granules, and the pesticide sorption particles prior to briquetting, and by the conditions under which the nutrient granules and the sorption particles are bound together into attrition and shatter resistant briquettes. The method of combination, and the amounts of the ingredients combined are critical to the effectiveness of the new composition.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to an attrition and shatter resistant plant nutrient/pesticide briquette composition which slowly releases biologically active materials and plant nutrients to plants in soil. A composition has been discovered which provides these desirable, and heretofore unavailable, properties. The composition comprises slow release plant nutrient particles, having diameters between 0.5 and 5.0 millimeters, amounting to between 50 and 95 percent of the briquette. When the nutrient particles are significantly larger, or smaller, the attrition and shatter resistance of the briquettes are substantially reduced. The same effect is observed when the plant nutrients concentrations are outside of the 50 and 95 percent range.
The effective composition of this invention requires pesticide sorption solids, exhibiting diameters of between 0.5 and 5.0 millimeters and an ability to sorb and reduce leachability of liquid pesticides, amounting to between 2 and 45 percent of the briquette. Some variations in the particle size of the pesticide sorption solids are tolerable, but significant amounts outside the foregoing size range does not provide the desired resistance to attrition and shattering of the briquettes. The pesticide sorption solids must have an ability to absorb, adsorb, or both, liquid pesticides so that the leachability of the liquid pesticides is reduced. This reduction in leachability is usually effected by sorption onto solids with high surface areas, but may also be achieved by dissolution of the liquids into materials on the surface of the solids, or by simple occlusion in the sorption solids. The exact type of sorption may be varied, but it must significantly reduce the leachability of the liquid pesticide applied. The amount of sorption solids may be varied over a substantial range depending upon the type and amount of pesticide employed.
In the instant invention a liquid pesticide, amounting to between 0.1 and 10.0 percent of the pesticide sorption solids, is sorbed on the pesticide sorption solids. Solid pesticides in this system are ineffective and allow unacceptably high leach rates. Amounts of pesticides, less than 0.1 percent provide unacceptably slow release rates from the bri
Arter & Hadden LLP
Clardy S. Mark
Lesco Technologies LLC
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