The use of dye markers as a potential method of reducing pesticide use

Acetamiprid, chlorantraniliprole, and in some situations the physical barriers MultiPro® or Kvaae® wax, can be alternatives to traditional synthetic pyrethroid insecticides for the protection of young conifers from damage by the large pine weevil Hylobius abietis L.

“…The marker dye Dysol Turquoise® (at a rate giving an equivalent of 0.16 g stem −1 a.i. Acid Blue 9) did not reduce the efficacy of any of the treatments we tested it on, suggesting that it can be used in spray mixes with chlorantraniliprole, to assist in targeting applications, minimising drift, and in reducing the risk of operator contamination in the forest (Brown et al 2003;Willoughby 2007). However, currently in the UK although chlorantraniliprole (as Coragen®) has an Extension of Authorisation for Minor Use (Health and Safety Executive 2019) which permits it to be used to pretreat plants in a forest nursery prior to dispatch, no approved product exists that can be used in the forest for top-up sprays after planting.…”

“…4. For treatments 9 and 10, the dye Dysol Turquoise® (40% acid blue 9) was applied at 2% of final spray volume following the recommendations in Brown et al (2003). storage had no significant impact on transplant survival in any of the treatments.…”

“…Specific design for Experiment 5efficacy of pretreatment with acetamiprid or chlorantraniliprole This experiment was designed to investigate the effect of dose rate on the efficacy of chlorantraniliprole, applied as a pre-treatment in the nursery, in protecting young Sitka spruce trees that were subsequently planted out in the forest. The impact on efficacy of adding a dye marker, which is often mixed with diluent when top-up applications are made in forests to make the resulting spray mist more visible to operators, and hence help them to minimise drift, contamination, and non-target runoff (Brown et al 2003), was also tested. In addition, the effectiveness of acetamiprid applied via a new pre-treatment machine developed by the Forestry Commission was examined, to see if the resulting efficacy in protecting planting stock from Hylobius browsing damage in the forest matched that expected from standard research treatments applied by knapsack sprayers.…”

Multivariate statistical analysis of mid‐infrared spectra for the online monitoring of 2‐ethylhexyl acrylate/styrene emulsion copolymerization

“…Little effort has been given to the use of dyes in fungal formulations for such improvement. Generally, the addition of dyes into pesticides can help growers (i) to improve the precision of applications, reducing the need for follow‐up treatments, (ii) to identify spray patterns and (iii) to recognise rapidly any faults in nozzles, sprayers and protective clothing, so reducing the likelihood of operator contamination 18–20. Most dyes used in pesticide formulations are acid dyes that are water‐soluble anions and non‐toxic mammalian cells.…”