A natural adjuvant shows the ability to improve the effectiveness of glyphosate application.

Glyphosate is a common herbicide used worldwide, but its adjuvant has not been studied much. A new adjuvant A-178®, based on the coconut shell extracts, has been developed for glyphosate (glyphosate isopropylamine salt: GP). The potency of the new adjuvant was compared with traditional adjuvant polyethoxylated tallow amine (POEA). Field study has shown that A-178® can improve the herbicidal effect of GP formulation, and, as compared with 41% GP mixed with 7% POEA (GPP), 41% GP mixed with 7% A-178® (recommended dose, GPA) is more effective for weed control. GPA improved herbicidal activity against GP alone by 79.27% and against GPP by 27.38% at 500 g a.i./ha. A-178® decreased the surface tension, increased the spreading area of GP, and improved the uptake of GP in cockspur ( L.). Our results indicated that the new adjuvant shows better ability to improve glyphosate efficacy than does POEA.