[01] Muhammad Sarwar, Nuclear Institute for Agriculture & Biology (NIAB), Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan.

The objective of this article is to know the types of formulations, familiar with the major families of pesticides side by side their modes of action, what to consider in choosing the best formulation along with when to use various formulations and compatibility. Generally, the formulations are commercially produced for drugs, cosmetics, coatings, dyes, alloys, cleaning agents, foods, lubricants, fuels, fertilizers, pesticides and many others. Nevertheless, pesticides also come in various formulations and formulations enable the pesticide to be applied, but, insecticides specifically kill insects and are just one of many types of pesticides. An insecticide formulation can be principally a wettable powder (WP), soluble powder (SP), or emulsifiable concentrate (EC). These formulations are relatively easy to handle, transport, store, little agitation is required, do not settle out or separate when equipment is running, non-abrasive, cannot plug screens or nozzles, and leaves little visible residue on treated surfaces. Insecticide formulations are broken-down into active ingredients and inert ingredients. The active ingredients in insecticide are the chemicals that control the target pest upon application. Most insecticide products have inert (inactive) ingredients, which are used to dilute the pesticide or to make it safer, more effective, easier to measure, mix, or apply, and more convenient to handle. In that sense a formulation may be created according to the standard of the product for any of the purposes such as to achieve effects that cannot be obtained from its components when these are used singly, achieve a higher degree of effectiveness, facilitate any potential synergistic action of their components, and improve handling properties and often safety for the user. Some insecticides can be mixed together (i.e., these are compatible with each other); not all insecticides can be mixed together (incompatible) because these separate out of the solution, gel, curdle, or clog the equipment during application; and insecticides that are physically different (i.e., dust versus liquid) are typically incompatible. Consequently, the competently designed formulations for particular applications are safer, more effective and more economical than any of their components used singly.

Formulation, Insecticide, Pesticide, Compatibility, Concentration

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