For turf managers and agronomists
How adjuvants improve herbicide performance
What happens between the nozzle and the leaf surface matters as much as the herbicide itself.
Two applicators can spray the same herbicide at the same rate on the same weeds and get noticeably different results. Often the difference isn’t the herbicide, it’s what happens between the nozzle and the leaf surface. That’s where adjuvants come in, and understanding what they actually do changes how you think about spray performance beyond just active ingredient and rate.
What an adjuvant actually does
Without a surfactant
Droplets bead up and roll off
With Agrifac Pro
Spreads into a thin film
A non-ionic surfactant like Agrifac Pro reduces the surface tension of the spray solution, letting droplets spread into a thin film across the leaf surface instead of beading up and rolling off. More surface contact means more of the active ingredient actually stays on the plant long enough to be absorbed, rather than ending up on the ground.
The humectant component adds a second function: slowing evaporation of the spray droplet after it lands. In hot, dry conditions, a droplet can evaporate before the plant finishes absorbing the active ingredient, especially with systemic herbicides that need time to translocate. Slowing that evaporation window gives the herbicide more time to actually work.
When it matters most
Hot, dry weather
Droplets evaporate fast and coverage time is limited.
Waxy or hairy leaves
The natural leaf surface resists wetting and herbicide beads off without help.
Hard water
Mineral content in the spray water can interfere with herbicide uptake.
Low-rate systemics
Maximizing absorbed active ingredient matters more when there’s less product to begin with.
Applications in cool, humid conditions on easy-to-wet weeds see less benefit, the surfactant is filling a gap that isn’t as wide to begin with.
Agrifac Pro specifics
Agrifac Pro is an 80% blend of alkylpolyoxyethanol and humectants, tank-mixed at 1 to 2 quarts per 100 gallons of water. It’s compatible with herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, and fertilizers, including glyphosate-based herbicide programs, making it a flexible addition across most spray programs rather than something limited to one product category.
A caution on compatibility
Adding a third or fourth product to a tank mix increases the chance of a compatibility problem, physical separation, reduced efficacy, or in some cases increased phytotoxicity to the target turf. Before mixing Agrifac Pro into a tank with multiple other products for the first time, a small jar test, combining the products at the intended ratio in a clear container before loading the full tank, is worth the five minutes it takes.
Always check the label of whatever herbicide, fungicide, or insecticide you’re adding it to as well, not every product is adjuvant-compatible at every rate.
Improving spray performance on your program?
Contact Agrisel for pricing on Agrifac Pro for your spray program.