Chemistry: fertilizers – Processes and products – Organic material-containing
Reexamination Certificate
1999-02-03
2002-05-14
Langel, Wayne (Department: 1754)
Chemistry: fertilizers
Processes and products
Organic material-containing
C071S064100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06387147
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a fertilizer composition, more specifically to a fertilizer composition to be applied or sprayed to the roots, stems, leaves or fruits of plants for the purpose of preventing the plants from developing physiological lesions due to the deficiency of nutrient elements such as calcium.
BACKGROUND ART
Plants require various nutrient elements for their growth, but such elements are not always present copiously in the soil. It is known that plants therefore suffer obstruction of growth when they are not supplied sufficiently with some of the elements. As respects the three major elements of fertilizer, for example, nitrogen (N) is a constituent (i.e. component) element of proteins, phosphorus (P) not only is a constituent (i.e. component) element of nucleic acids and phospholipids but also fulfills an important role in the energy metabolism and the synthesis and decomposition of substances, and potassium (K) discharges physiological functions of metabolism and mass transfer. Insufficient supply of these main components (i.e. elements) generally renders the growth of plants inferior. Further, calcium is an important component constituting plants themselves and cells thereof and plays the important role of balancing the metabolism system. It is, however, prone to cause symptoms of calcium deficiency and induce physiological lesions, for example, tip rot in tomatoes, core rot in white rapes and cabbages, bitter pit in apples, and tip burn in strawberries.
When the soil is deficient in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, it is a general practice to incorporate a chemical fertilizer thereinto. With the purpose of inhibiting the physiological lesions due to the deficiency of calcium, meanwhile, many attempts have been made to incorporate inorganic calcium or the like into the soil to thereby supply calcium to a plant through its roots. More often than not, however, the calcium thus supplied is not thoroughly absorbed into the plant because part of the calcium reacts with atmospheric carbon dioxide 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 such a phenomenon leads to fertilizer application imbalanced between chemical fertilizer and calcium. 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 considerably long time to do so and it therefore fails to exert an immediate effect on the lesion.
In recent years, therefore, attempts have been made to protect plants, which will easily suffer from physiological lesions due to the deficiency of calcium, from such lesions by spraying a calcium fertilizer in the form of an aqueous solution directly on leaves and fruits of the plants.
Known calcium fertilizers to be applied by the above technique of foliage spray include such water-soluble calcium salts as calcium formate (JP-A 59-137384), calcium acetate (JP-A 60-260487), calcium propionate (JP-A 4-202080), calcium chloride and calcium nitrate and so on. Further, calcium fertilizers obtained by combining highly soluble calcium salts with lowly soluble ones have been also known (JP-A 7-10666). Meanwhile, WO98/06681 publicly opened on Feb. 19, 1998 discloses the addition of heptonic acid or sodium heptonate and a surfactant to fertilizers.
The foliage spray of the aqueous solution of a calcium salt, however, had the problem of poor absorption efficiency because the absorption of calcium through the leaves and the fruits of a plant was generally low. Further, an effort to spray an excess of a fertilizer such as N, P, K or calcium salts for the purpose of enhancing the absorption thereof ironically results in imparting stress to the plant and causing toxic damage to the plant.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The inventors of the present invention have made intensive studies for the purpose of solving the above problems and have found that when a fertilizer composition comprising a combination of a specific anionic surfactant or a hydrophilic nonionic surfactant with a fertilizer, particularly a calcium compound is applied to the roots or leaves of a plant in the form of an aqueous solution or an aqueous dispersion, the plant can efficiently absorb the fertilizer, particularly calcium. The present invention has been accomplished on the basis of this finding.
The present invention provides a fertilizer composition comprising 0.1 to 30% by weight of (A) at least one anionic surfactant selected from the group consisting of carboxylic acid type surfactants, sulfuric ester type surfactants, phosphoric ester type surfactants and naphthalenesulfonic acid type surfactants or at least one hydrophilic nonionic surfactant, 1 to 60% by weight of (B) a fertilizer, and 0.01 to 10% by weight of (C) an organic acid, exclusive of heptonic acid, or a salt thereof. Hereinafter, “an organic acid, exclusive of heptonic acid, or a salt thereof” means not only exclusion of heptonic acid but also exclusion of a salt of heptonic acid.
That is, the present invention relates to a fertilizer composition characterized by containing an anionic surfactant selected from among carboxylic acid type surfactants, sulfuric ester type surfactants, phosphoric ester type surfactants and naphthalenesulfonic acid type surfactants or a hydrophilic nonionic surfactant and a fertilizer as the essential components. In particular, it provides a fertilizer composition which permits high-efficiency absorption of the fertilizer into a plant when sprayed on the leaves of the plant in the form of an aqueous solution or an aqueous suspension. Herein, the fertilizer is also a fertilizer-effective component.
Further, the present invention also provides a method for improving the absorption efficiency of the fertilizer (B) for a plant by applying the above fertilizer composition to the roots, stems, leaves or fruits of the plant.
Additionally, the present invention provides a method for supplying the fertilizer (B) to a plant by applying the above fertilizer composition to the roots, stems, leaves or fruits of the plant.
The anionic surfactant to be used in the present invention is one selected from among carboxylic acid type surfactants, sulfuric ester type surfactants, phosphoric ester type surfactants and naphthalenesulfonic acid type surfactants.
Examples of the carboxylic acid type surfactants include fatty acids each having 8 to 20 carbon atoms and salts thereof, polyhydric carboxylic acids and salts thereof, polyoxyalkylene alkyl ether carboxylic acids and salts thereof, polyoxyalkylene alkylamide. ether carboxylic acids and salts thereof, rhodinic acid and salts thereof, dimer acids and salts thereof, polymer acids and salts thereof, and tall oil fatty acids and salts thereof. Further, examples of the amino acid type surfactants include acylamino acid salts, salts of acylsarcosine, acyloylmethylaminopropionic acid salts, alkylamino-propionic acid salts, and acylamidoethylhydroxyethyl-methylcarboxylic acid salts; and examples of the imidazoline type surfactants include alkylcarboxymethylhydroxyethylimidazolinium betaines and alkylethoxycarboxymethylimidazolinium betaines.
Examples of the sulfuric ester type surfactants include alkyl sulfates and salts thereof, polyoxyalkylene alkyl sulfates and salts thereof, polyoxyalkylene alkylphenyl ether sulfates and salts thereof, tristyrenated phenol sulfates and salts thereof, and polyoxyalkylene distyrenated phenol sulfates and salts thereof.
Examples of the phosphoric ester type surfactants include alkyl phosphates and salts thereof, alkylphenyl phosphates and salts thereof, polyoxyalkylene alkyl phosphates and salts thereof, and polyoxyalkylene alkylphenyl phosphates and salts thereof.
Examples of the naphthalenesulfonic acid type surfactants include alkylnaphthalenesulf
Hayashi Masaharu
Kamei Masatoshi
Kurita Kazuhiko
Suzuki Tadayuki
Yamaguchi Katsuhiko
Kao Corporation
Langel Wayne
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