Tip: Add ammonium sulfate to mix with glyphosate & 2,4-D
Addition to Ammonium Sulfate (AMS)
Weed control was improved with ammonium sulfate. Over the last decade, an increasing number of people have combined herbicides with fertilizer solutions in their tank mix to increase control of undesirable plants.
Among these herbicides are 2,4-D and glyphosate compounds, as well as a variety of other common weak acid herbicides (Acifluorfen, Bentazon, Clopyralid, Dicamba, Glufosinate, Pelargonic acid, Picloram, Quinclorac, Triclopyr). Including ammonium sulfate may add some work and expense, but it is well worth it to get the best performance from your glyphosate application.
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Why is only AMS helpful?
The addition of surfactants to glyphosate products improves the spreading of the spray over the plant and results in greater absorption, but it does not address the hard water issue. Hard water contains magnesium and calcium, which combine with glyphosate to form glyphosate-magnesium and glyphosate-calcium compounds, resulting in poor uptake and weed control.
When you add it, the sulfate ions first bind to calcium and magnesium in the mixture water. Second, some of the glyphosate binds with ammonium to form a compound that improves the glyphosate’s effectiveness on some weed species. When hard water is used as the carrier, only AMS is effective at protecting glyphosate performance.
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Is it always necessary to use AMS?
If your water is not hard, no. However, calcium concentrations as low as 150 ppm have been shown to inhibit glyphosate action.
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How do I figure out how much AMS needs?
Consider the following equation:
AMS (lbs./ 100 gallons water) = (0.009 x ppm of calcium) + (0.005 x ppm of sodium) + (0.002 x ppm of potassium) + (0.014 x ppm of magnesium).So, if you have knowledge of the salts in your water, you can add the appropriate amount of AMS.
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What is the recommended amount if I don’t have such information?
This can vary between 4.25 and 17 lbs of AMS/100 gallons. Fortunately, AMS is VERY CHEAP, so this should not be an impediment to its use.
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Is it better to add more?
According to some studies, using high rates of AMS (above 9.7 kg/ha) can lead to reduced weed control.
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What else should be noted?
We only recommend using our “spray grade” ammonium sulfate. It will prevent the insoluble matter from clogging the nozzle.
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What else should be mentioned?
To minimize dicamba volatility, it can not be used with dicamba soybean herbicide.
Pesticide additives in the formulation of pesticide formulations (such as for oil-phase liquid emulsification, particle wetting and dispersion, preventing particle settling, stabilizing the dosage form, etc.) added to the additives called processing aids; and when the application of pesticide products, before the spray in the bucket (or sprayer), now mixed and added additives called barrel mix additives (tank-mix adjuvants), also known as spray additives. The main effect of such additives is to prevent the drift of droplets, evaporation, rebound and loss, and improve the wetting, spreading adhesion, or penetration and absorption of the liquid on the target, and ultimately achieve the purpose of pesticide products to increase efficiency, reduce the amount and reduce the number of residues.
