Are adjuvants useful in turf and ornamental management? The short answer is yes. Exacto has been manufacturing and providing customers with high-quality adjuvants in retail-ready packaging specifically for turf and ornamental customers for years. Although these products aren’t completely new, there’s a good amount of information that end-users simply don’t know about adjuvants. As we expand our branded adjuvant portfolio with new, innovative types of adjuvants and wetting agents, we are increasing our focus on education to help users from golf superintendents to professional gardeners achieve the desired outcome for their applications. While we don’t sell directly to these end users, we hope that the educational information we provide will benefit our customers, their sales teams, and ultimately, the end users. This is our mission at Exacto.
Empower applicators, growers, and resource managers with advanced product solutions so they can operate successfully and sustainably.
Crop protection products often have some amount of adjuvant in the container, but environmental circumstances, such as weather, water quality, and toughness of weeds vary per application. Each applicator or resource manager intends to achieve the best results for each application of crop protection chemicals. And each application costs money, not only in chemicals but in time and equipment. So, minimizing resprays or callbacks is key to effective application management and that is where adjuvants come in.
Adjuvants optimize the tank mix to enable each application to achieve its intended goals by mitigating impacts from environmental factors. From deposition and spreading to penetration and sticking, an adjuvant makes successful application possible. Ultimately, the most expensive application is the one that does not achieve its goal!
The Exacto branded product line is packaged for shelf display, in retail, or contractor sizes and includes a broad range of products in the following categories:
Our products are meticulously formulated to provide the end users with easy-to-use, effective adjuvants and moisture management products.
Activator adjuvants are developed to optimize the effectiveness of crop protection products. Nonionic and organosilicone surfactants, methylated seed oils (MSO), water conditioners, stickers, and deposition aids fall into this grouping. Our branded product line includes at least one of each of these functions.
Exacto surfactants AUDIBLE™ and SCRIMMAGE™ help spread pesticides over the target, while MOTION™, an MSO, enables a more efficient penetration into the target COMPLETION™, a water conditioner reduces the pH and mitigates hard water issues that can impact the effectiveness of actives in the tank mix. Our deposition aid, INLAY™ ensures your application will reach the target without causing unwanted harm. Last but not least, BACK FIELD™ is a sticker safeguarding the pesticide on target for a longer period of time.
Exacto activator adjuvants include SCRIMMAGE, MOTION, INLAY, COMPLETION, BACKFIELD, and AUDIBLE.
Our latest addition to this category is DOUBLE COVERAGE™, a blend of MSO with an organosilicone surfactant combining spreading capabilities with penetrative qualities.
Exacto’s new activator adjuvant, DOUBLE COVERAGE.
Adjuvants that enhance the application process such as antifoams, scent masking agents, equipment cleaners, or dyes are categorized as utility adjuvants.
REVERSE™ is a very effective antifoaming agent that not only prevents foaming while mixing or spraying but also, as the name suggests, will be able to reverse the foam that inadvertently was created. PLAY OFF™ is a scent masking agent which can be very practical when not-so pleasantly smelling chemicals are sprayed near frequently visited areas. DELINEATE™ is a foam marker that guides applicators with a visual confirmation to reduce skips and overlaps. ONSIDE KICK™ is an effective tank cleaner that helps prevent cross-contamination and extends the life of spray equipment. There are several colors of marking dyes under the HASH MARK™ brand that can be used to identify applications. HASH MARK can be added to any tank mix including foam markers like DELINEATE. BOWL GAME™ products beautify water features and can help prevent algae growth.
Exacto utility adjuvants include REVERSE, PLAY OFF, DELINEATE, ONSIDE KICK, HASH MARK products, and BOWL GAME products.
The latest additions to this category are CHECKDOWN™, an anti-transpirant, and FORMATION™, a tackifier. CHECKDOWN forms a protective shield to protect against moisture loss, air pollution, UV light, and minor frosts. In both dry and liquid forms, FORMATION tackifiers help with the distribution and adhesion of hydro-mulch slurries and increase the stability of water-soluble seed mats to protect seeds from environmental factors.
Exacto’s new utility adjuvants, CHECKDOWN, FORMATION, and FORMATION L.
For convenience, multifunctional adjuvants can not be beaten. OFFSIDE™ is a drift reduction agent/deposition aid that reduces the likelihood of damage to undesired areas. Something that should be in every tank mix. DRApHT PICK™ combines water conditioning, buffering, and a nonionic surfactant with a convenient indicator dye. YARDAGE™ is a multifunctional that increases the effectiveness of the pesticide by improving penetration, reducing drift, and optimizing the tank mix pH.
Exacto multifunctional adjuvants include DRApHT PICK, YARDAGE, and OFFSIDE.
SPREAD OFFENSE™ surfactant emulsion technology diversifies the benefits of your application plan by combining nonionic surfactant (NIS), water conditioning, drift control, and deposition aid qualities in one adjuvant. This provides better coverage to optimize inputs and maximize results by avoiding interference with droplet formation.
Exacto’s new multifunctional adjuvant, SPREAD OFFENSE.
Soil amendments and wetting agents are a special group of products that improve water management. For optimizing water use efficiency on turf products, AquiMax® Turf Pro, a patented mix of long-chain polymers and straight block copolymers, is available as an injectable and granular product. It can reduce water usage and improve water infiltration while maintaining plant health. Lateral™, a straight block copolymer combined with a surfactant is available as a liquid and in a new granular as well. It improves soil infiltration and is a great tool to prevent localized dry spots on turf fields. Power Run™, a straight block copolymer and surfactant, is used to reverse localized dry spots and improve water penetration in the soil.
Exacto soil amendments and wetting agents adjuvants include Lateral, Power Run, and AquiMax Turf Pro.
Lateral G is the newly developed, very effective granular version of the highly successful Lateral to facilitate easy distribution on smaller areas that are in need of preventive or curative infiltration issues. RPO™ is a reverse block polymer that can improve the water holding capabilities of soil so plants can make more effective use of the available water. Wishbone™, a blend of straight and reverse block copolymer is mostly recommended for recovery by improving infiltration and water retention.
New Exacto soil amendments and wetting agents include Lateral, Power Run, and AquiMax Turf Pro.
Exacto’s branded products for T&O can be an easy way to get started with dedicated products for the horticultural industry to learn the market.
To support education about the use of adjuvants and wetting agents in turf and horticulture, we are starting a dedicated T&O newsletter, that will focus on research, news, and interviews. It will also highlight the functionality and use cases of specific products. If you are interested in receiving these monthly newsletters, sign up below.
Surfactants are widely used across the world – in fact, you probably use surfactants every day in soaps, detergents, toothpaste, cosmetics, and countless other applications. Surfactants are just as important in agriculture and turf and understanding how and when to use the right surfactant can make or break a successful application.
Pre-emergence herbicide applications offer a valuable tool to prevent or reduce weed infestations early in the season. While these applications are helpful, it can be a challenge to achieve optimum results. Adjuvant use is increasing and studies continue to prove their effectiveness.
Leaders from Exacto and other companies recently took part in advocacy activities in Washington, DC, engaging in twenty-four meetings with congressional leadership, senators, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). They addressed a major challenge related to the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
Failed weed control may resemble herbicide resistance, but it’s not always the culprit. Recent cases of HPPD-inhibitor (group 27) herbicide failures have shown that certain application errors are more common culprits than resistance. This research shows ways to overcome these application challenges.
Cutting-edge discussions on golf course maintenance, including adjuvants and wetting agents, took place at the 2024 GCSAA Conference. The Exacto team was in full swing, bringing spray adjuvants, wetting agents, and innovative formulations to the table.
Have you ever thought you prepared the perfect application, but gotten less-than-perfect results? As the largest component of a spray tank mix, water can significantly impact application quality with hardness, pH differences, or dirtiness. Water conditioners can help to mitigate these issues.
Oil and water might not mix alone, but with the right emulsifier, they can be combined into a stable emulsion. The fascinating science behind emulsion stability reveals how adding the right emulsifier to a pesticide tank mix can ensure a uniform and consistent application.
Listen in as Brad DeBels, a prominent figure in the turf industry and the President of the Wisconsin Turfgrass Association, discusses current turf challenges, provides insight on the increasing value of turf, and shares his perspectives on the future of the green industry.
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