What comprehensive analyses and tests do we generally conduct on the agrochemical we produce?
Agrochemical is generally subject to the following comprehensive tests:
Physical and Chemical Property Tests
1.Active Ingredient Content:
Use instruments such as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography (GC) to accurately determine the content of active ingredients.
2.pH Value:
Measure with a pH meter to ensure that the agrochemical is within an appropriate acid-base range, ensuring stability, efficacy, and safety for crops and the environment.
3.Moisture Content:
Commonly use methods such as the Karl Fischer method and drying method to prevent the agrochemical from caking and decomposing due to excessive moisture.
4.Density and Specific Gravity:
For liquid agrochemical, measure with instruments such as a densitometer, which is related to product packaging, metering, and formula quality.
5.Particle Size:
For wettable powders, powders, etc., use a laser particle size analyzer to detect, which affects the suspension, dispersion, and adhesion of agrochemical.
6.Flash Point:
Use a flash point tester to determine the flammability of liquid agrochemical, reflecting the fire hazard during storage and use.
7.Viscosity:
Use a rotational viscometer, etc., to measure the internal friction of liquid agrochemical at a certain temperature and shear rate.
8.Surface Tension:
Use methods such as the platinum plate method and the pendant drop method, and measure with a surface tension meter, which affects the wetting, spreading, and adhesion of agrochemical on the surface of crops.
9.Acidity and Alkalinity:
In addition to pH value determination, methods such as acid-base titration can also be used to analyze the types and contents of acidic or alkaline substances.
10.Appearance and Color:
Directly observe or compare with standard samples to check whether the appearance and color meet the requirements.
11.Cold Storage Stability:
Store agrochemical samples in a specific low-temperature environment (such as 0°C or lower) for a certain period of time. Observe whether there are physical property changes such as crystallization, precipitation, and stratification, as well as chemical changes such as decomposition of active ingredients and reduction in content, so as to evaluate the stability of the product under low-temperature storage conditions.
12.Heat Storage Stability:
Place agrochemical samples at a relatively high temperature (such as around 54°C) for a certain period of time to accelerate possible chemical reactions of agrochemical, simulating the product in a harsher storage environment. Observe whether high temperature promotes the decomposition and oxidation of active ingredients in agrochemical, or causes changes in the physical properties of the dosage form, such as whether the emulsifiable concentrate becomes turbid or demulsifies, etc., so as to quickly evaluate the stability and shelf life of agrochemical under high-temperature storage or transportation conditions.
Safety Tests
1.Acute Toxicity:
Includes oral, dermal, and inhalation toxicity to mammals, and assess the acute hazards to humans and animals through animal experiments.
2.Chronic Toxicity:
Conduct long-term animal feeding experiments, etc., to investigate potential hazards such as carcinogenicity, teratogenicity, and mutagenicity under long-term low-dose exposure.
3.Residue Amount:
Use techniques such as gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) to detect residues in crops, soil, water bodies, etc.
4.Environmental Behavior:
Through soil leaching tests, hydrolysis tests, etc., study the degradation, adsorption, migration, and other behaviors in the environment.
5.Skin Irritation:
Apply agrochemical to the surface of animal skin and observe whether there are irritating reactions such as redness, erosion, etc.
6.Eye Irritation:
Drop agrochemical into the eyes of experimental animals and observe symptoms such as eye congestion and edema.
7.Allergenicity:
Detect whether there is an allergenic effect through animal experiments or human patch tests, etc.
8.Aquatic Biotoxicity:
Conduct fish acute toxicity tests, etc., to detect the toxicity to fish, algae, aquatic invertebrates, etc.
9.Avian Toxicity:
Conduct bird acute oral toxicity tests, etc., to assess the potential hazards to birds.
10.Bee Toxicity:
Evaluate the safety of agrochemical to pollinating insects such as bees through bee acute oral and contact toxicity tests.
11.Earthworm Toxicity:
Through earthworm acute toxicity tests, etc., study the toxicity effect on earthworms in the soil.
Functionality Tests
1.Suspension Rate:
For wettable powders, suspensions, etc., use standard hard water to stir and disperse, and then determine the content of active ingredients in the upper clear liquid to calculate.
2.Emulsion Stability:
Add emulsifiable concentrate into water, observe the emulsification state and stratification situation, and detect the emulsion stability.
3.Wettability:
Measure the wetting time of agrochemical in standard hard water to evaluate their ability to quickly wet and disperse in water.
4.Foaming Property:
Simulate the stirring or spraying process to detect the foaming amount and foam stability of agrochemical.
5.Dispersibility:
For water-dispersible granules, etc., observe whether they can quickly and evenly disperse into fine particles in water and the stability of the formed suspension.
6.Resuspension Property:
For wettable powders, etc., add water and stir again after storage, and observe the resuspension effect and the change of suspension rate.
7.Disintegration Property:
For water-dispersible granules, etc., observe the time and state of completely disintegrating into fine particles or powders in water.
8.Efficacy Duration:
Through field or indoor simulation tests, observe the time for agrochemical to maintain effective control effects.
9.Rainfastness:
Simulate rainfall conditions to detect the changes in the residue amount of active ingredients and control effects after agrochemical are applied to the surface of crops and washed by rain.
10.Inversion Test:
Place the packaged agrochemical products upside down for a period of time. Observe whether there are leaks, deformations, etc. in the packaging, detect the tightness and reliability of the packaging, ensure the safety and integrity of the product in different placement states, and also indirectly reflect the impact of the agrochemical itself on the packaging materials.