Chemistry: fertilizers – Processes and products – Inorganic material
Reexamination Certificate
1998-04-07
2001-03-27
Griffin, Steven P. (Department: 1754)
Chemistry: fertilizers
Processes and products
Inorganic material
C071S064100, C071S903000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06206946
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a fertilizer absorption accelerator and a fertilizer composition and more particularly to a fertilizer absorption accelerator composition which is added to a fertilizer adapted for use on plants by application to or spray on roots, stems, leaves, or fruits thereof for the purpose of preventing the plants from developing physiological lesions due to nutrient deficiency.
2. Description of Related Art
It is known that plants require various nutrient elements for their growth and that they suffer obstruction of growth when they are not supplied sufficiently with nutrient elements. As respects the three major elements of fertilizer, for example, nitrogen forms a component element of proteins, phosphorus not only constitutes itself a component element of nucleic acids and phospholipids but also fulfills an important role in the energy metabolism and the reactions for synthesis and decomposition of substances, and potassium discharges physiological functions of mass metabolism and mass transfer. Insufficient supply of these main components generally renders the growth of plants inferior. Calcium is an important component for the constitution of plants themselves and cells thereof and plays the important role of balancing the metabolic system. It is, however, prone to assume the symptom of deficiency and induce such phenomena as, for example, tip rot in tomatoes, core rot in white rapes and cabbages, bitter pit in apples, and tip burn in strawberries.
Since these elements are not always present copiously in the soil, various kinds of fertilizer are used in the soil to ensure sufficient supply of nutrient elements. When the soil is deficient in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, for example, the practice of incorporating a chemical fertilizer into the soil is followed.
As respects the physiological obstacle due to deficiency in calcium, the practice of precluding the calcium deficiency by incorporating lime or other calcium source into the soil has been often tried. More often than not, however, the calcium thus supplied is not thoroughly absorbed into the plants because part of the calcium reacts with the carbon dioxide in the air and escapes ultimately in the form of calcium carbonate into the underground, because the calcium reacts with other incorporated chemical fertilizer and consequently incurs inactivation, and because the incorporation of the chemical fertilizer and that of the calcium component are not well balanced. Even when the calcium is absorbed somehow or other through the root of a plant, it often fails to reach the site at which the physiological lesion actually develops because this element incurs unusual difficulty in migrating inside the system of a plant. When it reaches the site at all, it takes a considerable amount of time to do so and it fails to manifest an immediate effect on the lesion.
In recent years, therefore, it is tried to avoid a plant from a physiological lesion due to deficiency in calcium by directly spraying a calcium fertilizer in the form of an aqueous solution to leaves and fruits of the plant, which will easily suffer from such a lesion (the so-called foliage spray).
As compounds which are intended for use in such calcium fertilizers as utilize the technique of foliage spray mentioned above, such water-soluble calcium salts as calcium formate (JP-A-59-137,384), calcium acetate (JP-A-60-260,487), and calcium propionate (Japanese Patent Application No. 04-202,080) have been known. The calcium fertilizer including a calcium salt of high solubility and a calcium salt of low solubility in combination has been also known in JP-A 7-10666.
The direct spray of the aqueous solution of a calcium salt, however, has the problem of poor efficiency of absorption because the degree with which calcium is absorbed into the plant through the leaves and the fruits thereof is generally low. Further, an effort to spray such excessive fertilizer components as N, P, K, and calcium with a view to heightening the ratio of absorption ironically results in imparting stress to the plant and causes toxicity to the plant. The desirability of developing a measure for enabling a plant to attain efficient absorption of calcium and various other fertilizer components, therefore, has been finding widespread acceptance.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
Summary of the Invention
The present inventors have made a diligent study with a view to solving the problems mentioned above. They have consequently found that the combination of a surfactant with a heptonic acid or a salt thereof allows a plant to attain efficient absorption of fertilizer components and that a fertilizer composition containing a surfactant in combination with a heptonic acid or a salt thereof, when sprayed to the roots or the leaves of the plant, enables the plant to absorb the nutrient efficiently. The present invention has been perfected as a result.
Specifically, this invention aims to provide a fertilizer absorption accelerator composition characterized by containing a surfactant and a heptonic acid or a salt thereof as essential components thereof. This invention also aims to provide a fertilizer composition characterized by comprising a fertilizer component and the fertilizer absorption accelerator composition mentioned above.
Further, this invention aims to provide a method for accelerating the growth of a plant by supplying to the plant an aqueous solution, aqueous dispersion, or emulsion containing a fertilizer component, a surfactant, and a heptonic acid or a salt thereof.
This invention also aims to provide a method for accelerating the growth of a plant by supplying to the plant an aqueous solution, aqueous dispersion, or emulsion containing a surfactant and a heptonic acid or a salt thereof in concert with a fertilizer component.
Detailed Description of the Invention
The following surfactants are effectively usable in the present invention.
As concrete examples of the nonionic surfactant, sorbitan fatty acid esters, polyoxyalkylene sorbitan fatty acid esters, polyoxyalkylene fatty acid esters, glycerin fatty acid esters, polyoxyalkylene glycerin fatty acid esters, polyglycerin fatty acid esters, polyoxyalkylene polyglycerin fatty acid esters, sucrose fatty acid esters, resin acid esters, polyoxyalkylene resin acid esters, polyoxyalkylene alkyl ethers, polyoxyalkylene alkylphenyl ethers, alkyl (poly)glucoside, and polyoxyalkylene alkyl (poly)glucoside may be cited.
As concrete examples of the anionic surfactant, carboxylic acid type, sulfonic acid type, sulfuric acid ester type, and phosphoric acid ester type surfactants may be cited.
As concrete examples of the carboxylic acid type surfactants, fatty acids of 6-30 carbon atoms or salts thereof, polycarboxylic acids or salts thereof, polyoxyalkylene alkyl ether carboxylic acids or salts thereof, polyoxyalkylene alkyl amide carboxylic acids or salts thereof, rhodinic acids or salts thereof, dimer acids or salts thereof, polymer acids or salts thereof, tall oil fatty acids or salts thereof may be cited.
As concrete examples of the sulfonic acid type surfactants, alkyl benzenesulfonic acids or salts thereof, alkyl sulfonic acids or salts thereof, alkyl naphthalenesulfonic acids or salts thereof, naphthalenesulfonic acids or salts thereof, diphenyl ether sulfonic acids or salts thereof, condensates of alkyl naphthalenesulfonic acids or salts thereof, and condensates of naphthalenesulfonic acids or salts thereof may be cited.
As concrete examples of the sulfuric acid ester type surfactants, alkyl sulfuric acid esters or salts thereof, polyoxyalkylene alkyl sulfuric acid esters or salts thereof, polyoxyalkylene alkylphenyl ether sulfuric acids or salts thereof, tristyrenated phenol sulfuric acid esters or salts thereof, and polyoxyalkylene distyrenated phenol sulfuric acid esters or salts thereof may be cited.
As concrete examples of the phosphoric acid ester type surfactants, alkyl phosphoric esters or salts thereof, alkyl phenyl phosphoric acid esters or salts thereof, polyoxya
Hayashi Masaharu
Kamei Masatoshi
Suzuki Tadayuki
Birch & Stewart Kolasch & Birch, LLP
Griffin Steven P.
Kao Corporation
Warn Elin A
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