IL320595A - Preparations for fertilizing agricultural crops - Google Patents

Preparations for fertilizing agricultural crops

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Publication number
IL320595A
IL320595A IL320595A IL32059525A IL320595A IL 320595 A IL320595 A IL 320595A IL 320595 A IL320595 A IL 320595A IL 32059525 A IL32059525 A IL 32059525A IL 320595 A IL320595 A IL 320595A
Authority
IL
Israel
Prior art keywords
composition
magnesium
potassium
elemental
range
Prior art date
Application number
IL320595A
Other languages
Hebrew (he)
Inventor
Bhukhanwala Komal
Original Assignee
Bhukhanwala Komal
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Publication date
Application filed by Bhukhanwala Komal filed Critical Bhukhanwala Komal
Publication of IL320595A publication Critical patent/IL320595A/en

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    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C05—FERTILISERS; MANUFACTURE THEREOF
    • C05D—INORGANIC FERTILISERS NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C05B, C05C; FERTILISERS PRODUCING CARBON DIOXIDE
    • C05D1/00—Fertilisers containing potassium
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
    • A01G—HORTICULTURE; CULTIVATION OF VEGETABLES, FLOWERS, RICE, FRUIT, VINES, HOPS OR SEAWEED; FORESTRY; WATERING
    • A01G7/00—Botany in general
    • A01G7/06—Treatment of growing trees or plants, e.g. for preventing decay of wood, for tingeing flowers or wood, for prolonging the life of plants
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
    • A01N—PRESERVATION OF BODIES OF HUMANS OR ANIMALS OR PLANTS OR PARTS THEREOF; BIOCIDES, e.g. AS DISINFECTANTS, AS PESTICIDES OR AS HERBICIDES; PEST REPELLANTS OR ATTRACTANTS; PLANT GROWTH REGULATORS
    • A01N25/00—Biocides, pest repellants or attractants, or plant growth regulators, characterised by their forms, or by their non-active ingredients or by their methods of application, e.g. seed treatment or sequential application; Substances for reducing the noxious effect of the active ingredients to organisms other than pests
    • A01N25/12—Powders or granules
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
    • A01N—PRESERVATION OF BODIES OF HUMANS OR ANIMALS OR PLANTS OR PARTS THEREOF; BIOCIDES, e.g. AS DISINFECTANTS, AS PESTICIDES OR AS HERBICIDES; PEST REPELLANTS OR ATTRACTANTS; PLANT GROWTH REGULATORS
    • A01N25/00—Biocides, pest repellants or attractants, or plant growth regulators, characterised by their forms, or by their non-active ingredients or by their methods of application, e.g. seed treatment or sequential application; Substances for reducing the noxious effect of the active ingredients to organisms other than pests
    • A01N25/12—Powders or granules
    • A01N25/14—Powders or granules wettable
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
    • A01N—PRESERVATION OF BODIES OF HUMANS OR ANIMALS OR PLANTS OR PARTS THEREOF; BIOCIDES, e.g. AS DISINFECTANTS, AS PESTICIDES OR AS HERBICIDES; PEST REPELLANTS OR ATTRACTANTS; PLANT GROWTH REGULATORS
    • A01N25/00—Biocides, pest repellants or attractants, or plant growth regulators, characterised by their forms, or by their non-active ingredients or by their methods of application, e.g. seed treatment or sequential application; Substances for reducing the noxious effect of the active ingredients to organisms other than pests
    • A01N25/30—Biocides, pest repellants or attractants, or plant growth regulators, characterised by their forms, or by their non-active ingredients or by their methods of application, e.g. seed treatment or sequential application; Substances for reducing the noxious effect of the active ingredients to organisms other than pests characterised by the surfactants
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
    • A01N—PRESERVATION OF BODIES OF HUMANS OR ANIMALS OR PLANTS OR PARTS THEREOF; BIOCIDES, e.g. AS DISINFECTANTS, AS PESTICIDES OR AS HERBICIDES; PEST REPELLANTS OR ATTRACTANTS; PLANT GROWTH REGULATORS
    • A01N59/00—Biocides, pest repellants or attractants, or plant growth regulators containing elements or inorganic compounds
    • A01N59/06—Aluminium; Calcium; Magnesium; Compounds thereof
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
    • A01N—PRESERVATION OF BODIES OF HUMANS OR ANIMALS OR PLANTS OR PARTS THEREOF; BIOCIDES, e.g. AS DISINFECTANTS, AS PESTICIDES OR AS HERBICIDES; PEST REPELLANTS OR ATTRACTANTS; PLANT GROWTH REGULATORS
    • A01N59/00—Biocides, pest repellants or attractants, or plant growth regulators containing elements or inorganic compounds
    • A01N59/08—Alkali metal chlorides; Alkaline earth metal chlorides
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
    • A01N—PRESERVATION OF BODIES OF HUMANS OR ANIMALS OR PLANTS OR PARTS THEREOF; BIOCIDES, e.g. AS DISINFECTANTS, AS PESTICIDES OR AS HERBICIDES; PEST REPELLANTS OR ATTRACTANTS; PLANT GROWTH REGULATORS
    • A01N59/00—Biocides, pest repellants or attractants, or plant growth regulators containing elements or inorganic compounds
    • A01N59/16—Heavy metals; Compounds thereof
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
    • A01P—BIOCIDAL, PEST REPELLANT, PEST ATTRACTANT OR PLANT GROWTH REGULATORY ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR PREPARATIONS
    • A01P21/00—Plant growth regulators
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C05—FERTILISERS; MANUFACTURE THEREOF
    • C05D—INORGANIC FERTILISERS NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C05B, C05C; FERTILISERS PRODUCING CARBON DIOXIDE
    • C05D5/00—Fertilisers containing magnesium
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C05—FERTILISERS; MANUFACTURE THEREOF
    • C05D—INORGANIC FERTILISERS NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C05B, C05C; FERTILISERS PRODUCING CARBON DIOXIDE
    • C05D9/00—Other inorganic fertilisers
    • C05D9/02—Other inorganic fertilisers containing trace elements
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C05—FERTILISERS; MANUFACTURE THEREOF
    • C05G—MIXTURES OF FERTILISERS COVERED INDIVIDUALLY BY DIFFERENT SUBCLASSES OF CLASS C05; MIXTURES OF ONE OR MORE FERTILISERS WITH MATERIALS NOT HAVING A SPECIFIC FERTILISING ACTIVITY, e.g. PESTICIDES, SOIL-CONDITIONERS, WETTING AGENTS; FERTILISERS CHARACTERISED BY THEIR FORM
    • C05G5/00—Fertilisers characterised by their form
    • C05G5/10—Solid or semi-solid fertilisers, e.g. powders
    • C05G5/12—Granules or flakes
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C05—FERTILISERS; MANUFACTURE THEREOF
    • C05G—MIXTURES OF FERTILISERS COVERED INDIVIDUALLY BY DIFFERENT SUBCLASSES OF CLASS C05; MIXTURES OF ONE OR MORE FERTILISERS WITH MATERIALS NOT HAVING A SPECIFIC FERTILISING ACTIVITY, e.g. PESTICIDES, SOIL-CONDITIONERS, WETTING AGENTS; FERTILISERS CHARACTERISED BY THEIR FORM
    • C05G5/00—Fertilisers characterised by their form
    • C05G5/20—Liquid fertilisers
    • C05G5/27—Dispersions, e.g. suspensions or emulsions

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  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Pest Control & Pesticides (AREA)
  • Wood Science & Technology (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Environmental Sciences (AREA)
  • Plant Pathology (AREA)
  • Zoology (AREA)
  • Inorganic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Agronomy & Crop Science (AREA)
  • Dentistry (AREA)
  • Organic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
  • Toxicology (AREA)
  • Biodiversity & Conservation Biology (AREA)
  • Ecology (AREA)
  • Forests & Forestry (AREA)
  • Botany (AREA)
  • Dispersion Chemistry (AREA)
  • General Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Fertilizers (AREA)
  • Agricultural Chemicals And Associated Chemicals (AREA)
  • Coloring Foods And Improving Nutritive Qualities (AREA)
  • Seeds, Soups, And Other Foods (AREA)

Description

CROP NUTRITION COMPOSITION 1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a crop nutrition composition in the form of waterdispersible granules or aqueous suspension comprising:(i) one or more of water insoluble Magnesium salts or derivatives thereof, 5(ii) one or more of water soluble Potassium salts or derivatives thereof,(iii) one or more of surfactants,wherein the composition has elemental Magnesium content in the range of 1% to50% by weight of the total composition, andwherein the composition has elemental Potassium content in the range of 1% to 1050% by weight of the total composition. The composition of the present inventioncomprises particles in the size range of 0.1 micron to 30 microns. According to afurther embodiment, the surfactant is in the range of 0.1 to 40% by weight of thetotal composition.The present invention also relates to a method for improving plant health orenhancing the uptake of nutrient by the plants or plant yield; wherein the methodcomprises treating at least one of a plant, a plant propagation material, locus or plantparts thereof, a seed, seedling or surrounding soil with the crop nutritioncomposition of the present invention. 20 The present invention furthermore relates to a method of treating plants and meetingtheir nutritional requirement by making essential nutrients like Magnesium,Potassium available to them and also unlocking other micronutrients and traceelements present in the soil which hitherto were not available because of various 25factors primarily being soil degradation or antagonism between the nutrients onaccount of excessive use of synthetic fertilizers. 2. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In describing the embodiments of the invention, specific terminology is chosen forthe sake of clarity. However, it is not intended that the invention be limited to thespecific terms so selected and it is to be understood that each specific term includes 5all technical equivalents that operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similarpurpose.
Nutrition is the key element in the growth, reproduction and development of crops.Nutrients play an important role in balancing crop nutrition. Poor and inadequate 10availability of nutrients to the plants results in a lack of proper growth andphysiological development. As a consequence, the plants become more susceptibleto attack by pests. Other problems associated with agriculture are environmentalconditions such as drought, biotic and abiotic stress, poor soil condition, ordepletion of nutrients in the soil also lead to reduction in the yield and quality of 15produce.
It is also known that optimum levels of nutrients are required for the normalfunctioning, and growth of the plants, and any variance in the nutrient levels maycause hindrance in overall crop growth and cause its health to decline due to either 20a deficiency or toxicity which in turn affects the nutrients essential for human diet.Furthermore, poor availability of nutrients to the plants also results in a lack ofproper growth, resulting in the plants becoming more susceptible to attack by pests.
In addition to this, the interaction among different types of plant nutrients can either 25be antagonistic or synergistic depending upon the mixture of elements/nutrients andits composition, concentration etc. and that may influence nutrient use efficiency.Adequate supply of nutrients with optimum combination of various nutrientspromotes the overall development of the crops. Due to the application of excessnutrients, plants may suffer from "nutrient antagonism" whereby an excess of a 30 particular element may block the absorption of another element required by theplant which can result into the deficiencies in the plant.
Thus, providing adequate and balanced nutrition in a manner such that there ismaximum uptake of nutrients by the plant, along with protection to the crops 5remains a great challenge.
Further, optimizing the soil condition and managing the use of crop nutrients hasbeen a long-felt need for farmers to improve the nutrient use efficiency of crops.Significant research is being carried out so as to improve soil and plant health, 10provide better economic returns to farmers, and reduce the burden on theenvironment because of rampant use of synthetic pesticides.
Potassium (K) and Magnesium (Mg) are one of the essential nutrients required forbalanced nutrition, and regulating biochemical functions in plants. Potassium, one 15of the essential macro-nutrients for which plants have the highest demand, plays avital role in plant growth and development. It is an indispensable constituent for thecorrect development of plants and is essential for enzyme activation, proteinsynthesis, photosynthesis, osmoregulation, stomatal movement, energy transfer,phloem transport, cation-anion balance, and stress resistance. Magnesium (Mg) is 20an essential macro element that is also necessary for plant growth, health anddevelopment. Magnesium is involved in several different processes, includingphotosynthesis. The most important role of Magnesium is as a central atom or heartin the chlorophyll molecule. Without Magnesium, chlorophyll cannot capture Sun’senergy required for photosynthesis. Magnesium also helps to activate specific 25enzyme system which are involved in a plant's normal metabolism. Furthermore, itis also needed for cell division and protein formation and is an essential componentfor plant respiration.
The availability of Magnesium and Potassium in the soil depends on multiple 30factors. One of them is the source rock material, mobility in soil, the degree of weathering, local climate and specific agricultural system, its managementpractices, such as crop type, cropping intensity, cropping rotation and fertilizationpractices. Though the benefits of Potassium and Magnesium are well known, theirdeficiency has become widespread over the past several decades in most of theagricultural areas of the world resulting in these nutrients being indicated as a 5limiting factor for improving plant growth, high yield and fertilizer efficiency.Table A discusses the impact of deficiency of Magnesium and Potassium in plants.
Table A: Impact of deficiency of Magnesium and Potassium in plants.Nutrient Impact of deficiency in plantsPotassium  Chlorosis Wilting and scorching of older leaves Poor quality of fruits and seeds Purple spots on leaf undersides Distorted and small sized leaves Reduced flowering and branching Reduction in carbohydrate, protein and chlorophyllformation Poor resistance to ecological changesMagnesium  Chlorosis of leaves Stunted growth of plants Poor quality of fruits Death of plants Therefore, proper nutrition is critical for optimizing the plant nutrition andmetabolism, which in turn contributes to the overall crop yield, quality and nutrientrich human diet.15 Chemical fertilizers based on Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium (NPK) areusually employed at very high dosages in order to meet the nutritional demands ofthe plant. For instance: Potassium Chloride i.e. muriate of potash (MOP) has beenthe primary source of potassium in these conventional NPK fertilizers. However,excessive and indiscriminate application of Potassium Chloride leads to the 5accumulation of chloride ions in the soil which further leads to soil salinity causingdamage to the plants and other micro-organisms present in the soil. Chloride affectsplants primarily through increasing the osmotic potential of soil water. In otherwords, chloride salts increase the soil salinity which interferes with a plant’s abilityto take up water. 10 Also, with an increased rate of Ammonium Sulphate addition, the plants havebecome increasingly deficient in magnesium. The detrimental direct effect ofammonium sulphate on the magnesium supply to the plants was assumed to be dueto a competitive effect of NH4 and H-ions on Mg-uptake. These ions are formed in 15great excess in the root tissues soon after the absorption of the NH4-ions. (Nitrogen-Magnesium Relationships in Crop Plants by E. G. Mulder *, AgriculturalExperiment Station and Institute for Soil Research T.N.O., Groningen, TheNetherlands).Magnesium has been known to be applied to the soil in the form of water-solublesalts such as Magnesium Sulphate which has been the primary source ofMagnesium in conventional nutrient fertilizers. The farmer's practices involveapplication of Magnesium fertilizers at very high dosage of applications. However,it tends to leach away during rains leading to low availability of Magnesium in soil 25for uptake of plants. Besides, the application of water-soluble Magnesium Sulphatein higher dosages significantly elevates the salinity of the soil, causing damage tothe plants and other micro-organisms present in the soil.
Thus, since Magnesium and Potassium are directly and indirectly involved in 30numerous physiological processes associated with the growth and development of plants, it is essential to develop a composition that would adequately supply of thesenutrients together. The excessive amounts of Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Calcium,in the soil further lead to a nutrient imbalance and the final produce is devoid ofessential nutrients.On account of high application of NPK fertilizers, Potassium gets accumulated inthe soil which leads to an antagonistic effect on the uptake of other nutrients suchas Magnesium and Calcium i.e. it inhibits the uptake of Magnesium or Calcium byplants, leading to deficiency of these nutrients in plants.It is also known that one sided oversupply of potassium inhibits the uptake ofmagnesium, resulting in K-Mg antagonism. Antagonistic interactions/ competitivenature of potassium and magnesium has been reported (K.L. Kabu et. al, Influenceof potassium-magnesium antagonism on tomato Plant growth, Can. J. Plant Sci. 50:711-715 (Nov. 1970)). The soils with high-Potassium fertilization can decrease the 15availability of Magnesium to the plant, and may result in Magnesium deficiency ofcrops grown on soils that are already low in Magnesium. Conversely, crops grownon soils high in Magnesium can suffer Potassium deficiency, especially if the soilsare high in Phosphorus and low in Potassium.Thus, knowing the antagonism between magnesium and potassium, it has alwaysbeen challenging to develop an agricultural composition that would not onlyovercome this issue in terms of increasing the uptake of Magnesium butsimultaneously also maintain the pH of the soil and successfully meet the nutritionalrequirements of both Potassium and Magnesium in plants, which ultimately affects 25human nutrition.
Conventionally, micronutrient-based compositions are also known in the art in theform of bentonite granules or pastilles, pellets/prills, granules prepared throughmolten process etc. Such products of micronutrient compositions in the form of 30granules or pellets or pastilles comprise swelling clays and have been associated with several drawbacks. These compositions are generally bigger in size andinclude swelling clay which swells on contact with moisture and disintegrates intolarge particles of uneven size. Such granules or pastilles also lead to an irregularrelease of the micronutrients not meeting the plant's nutritional requirement andeventually resulting in poor field efficacy. 5 Furthermore, the patent application no. US20170283334A1 discloses amicronutrient composition comprising a combination of water insoluble and solublemicronutrients contained within a hydrated polyelectrolyte solution. Thepolyelectrolytes of such composition physically crosslink to create a thick, gel-like 10matrix in which the solid micronutrients are dispersed. Such compositions intendto deliver both immediate and sustained release of active components with the aidof a polyelectrolyte and a metal complexing agent. However, these highlyconcentrated formulations are difficult to dilute in water and do not form a stabledispersion and tend to form a hard pack, thus rendering them unsuitable for use. 15Such viscous, large particle size formulations being unpourable tend to clog thenozzles and pose a problem in the delivery of nutrients to the plant or crop.
There are commercial compositions known in the art in the form of powders thatinvolve either the use of water-soluble sources of nutrients or comprises of ore 20having the presence of both Potassium and Magnesium together. However, it wasobserved that such compositions tend to wash away and fail to be absorbed by theplants which in turn causes ground water contamination during heavy rainfall orirrigation. As soils become more saline, plants are unable to draw as much waterand nutrients from the soil. This results not only in a marked loss of efficiency but 25also has serious environmental consequences. Further, powder compositions notonly have the issues with respect to a practical application like the generation ofdust but also pose risk to the users mostly because of eye irritation, inhalation riskand skin irritation. Such formulations are also not easily dispersible and tend to clogthe nozzles when applied via drip, making it unsuitable for use in irrigation system. 30Further, these compositions have also been found to have poor suspensibility which lead to random and non-uniform distribution of active ingredient on the target areawhich would cause undesirable effects and pose a problem in effective delivery ofnutrients to the plant or crop, leading to poor uptake of the nutrition by the plants.Owing to such issues, these compositions are also required to be used in very largeamounts. 5 There also exists a disclosure of combination of Magnesium and Potassiumfertilizers formulated into disaggregable or disintegrable granular composition forsoil application which disintegrates or crumbles when soaked in water or when incontact with soil moisture. These types of granules are hard granules that avoid the 10drawbacks like generating dusts during application and also do not crumble or loseresistance during storage, transport, handling and application. For instance:WO2021250221 describes Potassium-Magnesium granular fertilizers with a goodwear resistance and made by compaction or granulation based on size enlargementthrough wet tumbling granulation. The compositions described herein are hard in 15nature and designed to disintegrate or break into larger particles to release theactives in a sustained release manner when applied to soil in the presence of water.As a consequence, the actives are released very slowly making the actives remainlocked in the soil for a prolonged period of time and thus fail to provide the nutrientsfor quick availability for uptake by the plants depriving the plant of their immediate 20nutritional requirement. As a consequence of the nutritional deficiency in the plantsduring their infancy, it makes them susceptible to various diseases eventuallystunting their growth and yield. Such water disintegrable granular compositionsowing to non-uniform disintegration and distribution of particles suffer from theirown set of drawbacks. On account of disintegration into random, larger and non- 25uniform particles size, these compositions tend to clog the nozzles when applied viadrip, making it unsuitable for use in modern day irrigation systems like dripirrigation.
There is a need to develop a composition comprising Magnesium in combination 30with Potassium which would make the said nutrients quickly available to the plant in effective quantities thus meeting the balanced nutritional requirement of plantsand addressing the drawbacks associated with prior known compositions. Further,there is a need for an agricultural product that would provide high field efficacywhile being applied at a reduced dosage of application of the composition.The present inventors surprisingly found that the composition of the presentinvention comprising water insoluble salt of Magnesium and water soluble salt ofPotassium in the form of water dispersible granules (WDG) or aqueous suspension(SC) with specific particle size was not only effective in overcoming theantagonism amongst these nutrients but also exhibited synergistic effect. 10 It was further noted that the enhanced effects in terms of crop yield and uptake ofnutrients and growth characteristic were observed when the composition comprisedof water soluble salts or derivatives of Potassium and water insoluble salts orderivatives of Magnesium and formulated into a water dispersible granules or 15aqueous suspension wherein the composition readily disperses in water or in thepresence of soil moisture into fine particles of size range 0.1-30 microns making animmediate availability of nutrients to the plant rhizosphere.
The present composition was further observed to prevent the leaching of these 20nutrients and making them available to the fullest extent for the uptake by crops andincrease the overall yield.
It was also observed that the composition of the present invention when formulatedat a particle size of 0.1 to 30 microns further enhances the availability of nutrients 25Magnesium and Potassium for uptake by the plants. The present composition wasalso found to play a vital role in regulating soil pH and facilitate the uptake of othernutrients which are trapped in soil by plants because of various factors primarilybeing soil degradation or antagonism between the nutrients on account excessiveuse of synthetic fertilizers. 30 It was further surprisingly noted by the inventors that the present composition alsoaddresses the unavailability of Magnesium which was on account of excessPotassium present in the soil due to the long-term application of NPK fertilizers andthus made magnesium quickly available for uptake.The present composition acts as a nutrient-use efficient composition while meetingthe need of crops by providing a multi nutritive solution with improved uptake bycrops in a single application.
The inventors of the present application have determined that the crop nutrition 10composition in the form of water dispersible granules or aqueous suspensioncomprising one or more of water insoluble Magnesium salts or derivatives thereofand one or more of water soluble Potassium salts or derivatives thereof with one ormore of surfactant; wherein the composition comprises particles in the size rangeof 0.1 micron to 30 microns, demonstrates excellent field efficacy even when 15applied at reduced dosage of application as compared to individual applications ofsaid actives or commercially available products.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION: 20 The present invention relates to a crop nutrition composition in the form of waterdispersible granules or aqueous suspension comprising:(i) one or more of water insoluble Magnesium salts or derivativesthereof, 25(ii) one or more of water soluble Potassium salts or derivatives thereof,(iii) one or more of surfactants,wherein the composition has elemental Magnesium content in the range of 1% to50% by weight of the total composition, andwherein the composition has elemental Potassium content in the range of 1% to 3050% by weight of the total composition, and wherein the surfactant is in the range of 0.1 to 40% by weight of the totalcomposition, andwherein the composition comprises particles in the size range of 0.1 micron-30microns.The crop nutrition composition of the present invention in the form of waterdispersible granules or aqueous suspension makes the nutrients Magnesium andPotassium available for quick uptake by the plants resulting in an increased yield invarious crops and improvement of plant physiological parameters. It was furthersurprisingly observed that the composition of the present invention provides a 10balanced uptake of all nutrients including Potassium and Magnesium, thusovercoming the challenge of providing a nutrient rich crop. The presentcomposition also addresses the unavailability of Magnesium on account of excessPotassium present due to the long-term application of NPK fertilizers in the soil.The crop nutrition composition of the present invention is in the form of waterdispersible granules or aqueous suspension comprising:(i) one or more of water insoluble Magnesium salts or derivatives thereof,(ii) one or more of water soluble Potassium salts or derivatives thereof,(iii) one or more of surfactants, 20wherein the composition has elemental Magnesium content in the range of 1% to50% by weight of the total composition, andwherein the composition has elemental Potassium content in the range of 1% to50% by weight of the total composition, andwherein the surfactant is in the range of 0.1 to 40% by weight of the total 25composition, andwherein the composition comprises particles in the size range of 0.1 micron-30microns.
Furthermore, the invention relates to a process for preparing a crop nutritioncomposition in the form of water dispersible granules or aqueous suspensioncomprising:(i) one or more of water insoluble Magnesium salts or derivatives thereof,(ii) one or more of water soluble Potassium salts or derivatives thereof, 5(iii) one or more of surfactants,wherein the composition has elemental Magnesium content in the range of 1% to50% by weight of the total composition, andwherein the composition has elemental Potassium content in the range of 1% to50% by weight of the total composition, and 10wherein the surfactant is in the range of 0.1 to 40% by weight of the totalcomposition; andwherein the composition comprises particles in the size range of 0.1 micron-30microns.The present invention further relates to a method of treating plants and meeting theirnutritional requirement by making essential nutrients like Magnesium andPotassium available to them.
The present invention relates to a method for improving plant health or enhancing 20the uptake of nutrient by the plants or plant yield; wherein the method comprisestreating at least one of a plant, a plant propagation material, locus or plant partsthereof, a seed, seedling or surrounding soil with the crop nutrition composition ofthe present invention.The present composition was also found to play a vital role in regulating soil pHand facilitating the uptake of other nutrients that are trapped in soil by plantsbecause of various factors primarily being soil degradation on account of excessiveuse of synthetic fertilizers.30 It was further surprising to observe that the use of this composition results in a morebalanced uptake of all nutrients, leading to a healthier plant, higher nutrient harvestin all types of soils and improved soil health. The present composition acts as anutrient use efficient composition while meeting the need of crops by providing amulti nutritive solution with improved uptake by crops. 5 The superior effect of the present composition is on account of combination ofelements being a combination of water soluble K salt and water insoluble Mg saltformulated in WDG, SC compositions and having a particle size of 0.1-30 microns.The present invention also relates to a method of biofortification of plant withessential micronutrients.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference is made to theembodiments illustrated in greater detail in the accompanying drawings anddescribed by way of embodiments of the invention.
FIGURE 1 illustrates an image of the water disintegrable granular composition as 20per the teachings of WO2021250221. The image depicts hard nature of thesegranules.
FIGURE 2 illustrates an image of the water dispersible granular composition as peran embodiment of the present invention. 25 FIGURE 3a illustrates an image of the prior art water disintegrable granules inwater, right after initial application (30 seconds) which reflects the settlingbehaviour of the composition owing to disadvantages such as poor dispersion andsuspensibility in water. It was observed that the water disintegrable granules on 30account of their physical property tend to disintegrate into larger particles and settle or sediment at the bottom of the cylinder, leaving behind a significant residue thatresults in non-uniform suspension and therefore non-uniform distribution orcoverage of the actives on the crops, resulting in poor uptake of the nutrients by thecrop, thus hampering the crop quality.FIGURE 3b illustrates an image of the water dispersible granules in water as per anembodiment of the present invention, right after initial application (30 seconds).When these water dispersible granules come in contact with an aqueous medium,they disperse immediately to release the material, and remain dispersed andsuspended uniformly throughout the aqueous medium over a long period of time 10and make the active ingredients readily available for uptake by the plants.
FIGURE 4a illustrates an image of the prior art water disintegrable granules inwater, after 60 minutes of application without stirring. Even after 60 minutes, thehard granules of the prior art remained settled or sedimented at the bottom of the 15cylinder.
FIGURE 4b illustrates an image of the water dispersible granules in water as per anembodiment of the present invention, after 60 minutes of application withoutstirring. The composition remains suspended easily and uniformly preventing 20sedimentation of the actives at the bottom of the cylinder over an extended periodof time thereby ensuring uniform distribution of the actives to the crops resulting inbetter nutrient uptake and quality of the crops and are suitable for use in dripirrigation. DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION: In describing the embodiment of the invention, specific terminology is chosen forthe sake of clarity. However, it is not intended that the invention be limited to thespecific terms so selected and it is to be understood that such specific terms include 30all technical equivalents that operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose. It is understood that any numerical range recited herein is intended toinclude all subranges subsumed. Also, unless denoted otherwise percentage ofcomponents in a composition are presented as weight percent or total weight of thecomposition.Groupings of alternative elements or embodiments of the invention disclosed hereinare not to be construed as limitations. Each group member can be referred to andclaimed individually or in any combination with other members of the group orother elements found herein. One or more members of a group can be included in,or deleted from, a group for reasons of convenience and/or patentability. 10 As used herein, the terms "comprising" "including," "having," "containing,""involving," and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to meanincluding but not limited to. The terms "preferred" and "preferably" refer toembodiments of the invention that may afford certain benefits, under certain 15circumstances.
In any aspect or embodiment described hereinbelow, the phrase "comprising" maybe replaced by the phrases "consisting of" or "consisting essentially of" or"consisting substantially of". In these aspects or embodiment, the composition 20described includes or comprises or consists of or consists essentially of or consistssubstantially of the specific components recited therein, to the exclusion of otheringredients or excipients not specifically recited therein.
In some embodiments, the numbers expressing the quantities of ingredients, 25properties such as concentration, and so forth, used to describe and claim certainembodiments of the invention are to be understood as being modified in someinstances by the term "about." Accordingly, in some embodiments, the numericalparameters set forth in the written description are approximations that can varydepending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by a particular 30embodiment. In some embodiments, the numerical parameters should be construed considering the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinaryrounding techniques. Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameterssetting forth the broad scope of some embodiments of the invention areapproximations, the numerical values set forth in the specific examples are reportedas precisely as practicable. 5 Reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment"means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connectionwith the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearancesof the phrases "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" in various places 10throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the sameembodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics maybe combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.
The recitation of ranges of values herein is merely intended to serve as a shorthand 15method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range.Unless otherwise indicated herein, each individual value is incorporated into thespecification as if it were individually recited herein.
All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless 20otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use ofany and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., "such as") provided with respectto certain embodiments herein is intended merely to better illuminate the inventionand does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention otherwise claimed. Nolanguage in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed 25element essential to the practice of the invention.
As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaningof "a," "an," and "the" includes plural reference unless the context clearly dictatesotherwise. Also, as used in the description herein, the meaning of "in" includes "in" 30and "on" unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
Nutrient use efficiency (NUE) is defined as a measure of how well plants use theapplied mineral nutrients. Improvement of NUE is an essential pre-requisite forexpansion of crop production into marginal lands with low nutrient availability butalso a way to reduce use of inorganic fertilizer. 5 The term "plant" or "crop" used in this invention are interchangeable and whereverthe term "plant" has been used shall also mean vegetations of similar nature namelycrops, trees, shrub, herb etc. The term ‘plant’ refers to all physical parts of a plant,including seeds, seedlings, saplings, roots, tubers, stems, stalks, foliage, and fruits. 10The term plant includes transgenic and non-transgenic plants.
The term "locus" of a plant herein is intended to embrace the place on which theplants are growing, where the plant propagation materials of the plants are sown orwhere the plant propagation materials of the plants will be placed into the soil. 15 The term "plant propagation material" is understood to denote generative parts of aplant, such as seeds, vegetative material such as cuttings or tubers, roots, fruits,tubers, bulbs, rhizomes and parts of plants, germinated plants and young plantswhich are to be transplanted after germination or after emergence from the soil. 20These young plants may be protected before transplantation by a total or partialtreatment by immersion.
The particle size of the composition is defined as the size of particles of thecomposition in the form of water dispersible granules (WG) or aqueous suspension 25(SC) as a whole comprising Potassium salt and Magnesium salt and excipient/s.
D50 is the corresponding particle size when the cumulative percentage reaches50%. D50 is also called the median particle diameter or median particle size andrepresent an average 50% of the total particles to be smaller than the determined 30size.
D90 is used to indicate particle size distribution and represent average 90% of thetotal particles to be smaller than the determined size. D90 is also the correspondingparticle size when the cumulative percentage reaches 90%.A water dispersible granule is defined as a formulation that disperses or dissolvesreadily when added to water to give a fine particle suspension. As described herein,"WG" or "WDG" refer to water dispersible granules. Water-dispersible granulesare formulated as small, easily measured granules (an agglomeration of fineparticles) by blending and agglomerating a ground solid active ingredient together 10with surfactants and other formulation ingredients which disperse into finer/primaryparticles when immersed in water. The water-dispersible granules are obtained byspray drying or by extrusion process.
As defined herein, the term "aqueous suspension" is a composition wherein solid 15particles are dispersed or suspended in a water. The term "suspension concentrates"or "aqueous suspension" or "aqueous dispersion" or "an SC composition" can beused interchangeably.
"Quick release" or "instant release" or "instantaneous dispersion" can be used 20interchangeably and is applicable to granules which rapidly disperse to release thenutrients.
As described herein the term "water disintegrable granules" or "waterdisaggregable granules" refer to a granular composition comprising agglomerated 25granules or particles which are generally hard and possess resistance not to easilybreak or crumble. These granules upon contact with sufficient water or soil moisturedisintegrate or break into individual particles releasing the actives over a prolongedperiod of time.30 Further, the active dosage of Potassium and Magnesium in a composition appliedin the field experiment is of elemental Potassium and elemental Magnesium.
The term ‘derivatives’ used in this invention shall also encompass the minerals orores containing Potassium and Magnesium etc. 5 The term ‘salts’ used in this invention shall also encompass the compoundscontaining Potassium, Magnesium. The compounds of Potassium includePotassium Hydroxide and the compounds of Magnesium include MagnesiumOxide, Magnesium Hydroxide. 10 A mixture is defined as a combination of two or more substances that are notchemically united to each other. A homogeneous mixture is defined as one whosecomposition is uniform throughout the mixture. It is the type of mixture wherethe composition is constant throughout or the components that make up the mixture 15are distributed uniformly.
The present invention relates to a crop nutrition composition comprising acombination of one or more of water insoluble Magnesium salts or derivativesthereof and one or more of water soluble Potassium salts or derivatives thereof 20along with at least one excipient. The composition is in the form of water dispersiblegranules and aqueous suspension. According to an embodiment, the agrochemicalexcipient is a surfactant.
The crop nutrition composition is in the form of homogeneous mixture of one or 25more of water insoluble Magnesium salts or derivatives thereof and one or more ofwater soluble Potassium salts or derivatives thereof along with at least onesurfactant.
According to further embodiment, the said crop nutrition composition comprises 30fine particles in the size range of 0.1 micron to 30 microns and exhibits improved physical properties in terms of dispersibility suspensibility, viscosity, spontaneityof dispersion, and pourability.
On account of superior physical characteristics, the composition of the presentinvention also finds a direct use in micro irrigation or drip irrigation systems. 5 The present composition has elemental Magnesium content in the range of 1% to50% by weight of the total composition, and has elemental Potassium content in therange of 1% to 50% by weight of the total composition.The present invention particularly relates to a crop nutrition composition in the formof water dispersible granules or aqueous suspension comprising:(i) one or more of water insoluble Magnesium salts or derivatives thereof,(ii) one or more of water soluble Potassium salts or derivatives thereof,(iii) one or more of surfactants, 15wherein the composition has elemental Magnesium content in the range of 1% to50% by weight of the total composition, andwherein the composition has elemental Potassium content in the range of 1% to50% by weight of the total composition, andwherein the surfactant is in the range of 0.1 to 40% by weight of the total 20composition, andwherein the composition comprises particles in the size range of 0.1 micron-30microns.
It was further noted that the enhanced effects in terms of crop yield and uptake of 25nutrients and growth characteristic were observed when the composition comprisedof water soluble salts or derivatives of Potassium and water insoluble salts orderivatives of Magnesium and formulated into a water dispersible granules oraqueous suspension wherein the composition readily disperses in water or in thepresence of soil moisture into fine particles of size range 0.1-30 microns making an 30immediate availability of nutrients to the plant rhizosphere. The present composition also demonstrated excellent field efficacy even when applied at a areduced dosage of application.
In addition, the present composition was further observed to prevent the leachingof these nutrients and making them available to the fullest extent for the uptake by 5crops and increase the overall yield.
The present composition was also found to play a vital role in regulating soil pHand facilitate the uptake of other nutrients that are trapped in soil by plants becauseof various factors primarily being soil degradation on account excessive use of 10synthetic fertilizers.
It was further surprisingly noted by the inventors that the present composition alsoaddresses the unavailability of Magnesium which was on account of excessPotassium present in the soil due to the long-term application of NPK fertilizers and 15thus made magnesium quickly available for uptake.
The composition of the present invention further meets the nutritional needs ofplants by providing a balanced uptake of essential nutrients like Potassium andMagnesium. It was further surprising to observe that the use of this composition 20leads to a healthier plant that could withstand pest infestation, a higher nutrientharvest in all soil types and finally improve the overall soil health. The presentcomposition acts as a nutrient-use efficient composition while meeting the need ofcrops by providing a multi nutritive solution with improved uptake by crops in asingle application. 25 The present invention is formulated in the form of water dispersible granules (WDGor WG) or aqueous suspension (SC).
According to an embodiment, the present composition comprises water insoluble 30Magnesium salts or derivatives thereof; wherein elemental Magnesium content is in the range of 1% to 50% by weight of the total composition. According to anembodiment, the present composition comprises water insoluble Magnesium saltsor derivatives thereof; wherein the elemental Magnesium content is in the range of1% to 45% by weight of the total composition. According to an embodiment, thepresent composition comprises water insoluble Magnesium salts or derivatives 5thereof; wherein the elemental Magnesium content is in the range of 1% to 40% byweight of the total composition. According to an embodiment, the presentcomposition comprises water insoluble Magnesium salts or derivatives thereof;wherein the elemental Magnesium content is in the range of 2% to 50% by weightof the total composition. According to an embodiment, the present composition 10comprises water insoluble Magnesium salts or derivatives thereof; wherein theelemental Magnesium content is in the range of 3% to 50% by weight of the totalcomposition. According to an embodiment, the present composition compriseswater insoluble Magnesium salts or derivatives thereof; wherein the elementalMagnesium content is in the range of 4% to 50% by weight of the total composition. 15According to a preferred embodiment, the present composition comprises waterinsoluble Magnesium salts or derivatives thereof; wherein the elementalMagnesium content is in the range of 5% to 50% by weight of the total composition.
According to a further embodiment, the water-insoluble magnesium salt includes 20but is not limited to one or more of Magnesium Molybdate, Magnesium Hydroxide,Calcium Magnesium Phosphate, Magnesium Phosphate, Magnesium Humate,Magnesium Carbonate, Magnesium Aluminium Silicate, Calcium MagnesiumSilicate, Magnesium Tartrate, Magnesium Trisilicate, Magnesium Oxalate,Magnesium Fulvate, Magnesium Silicate and Magnesium Oxide. However, those 25skilled in the art will appreciate that it is possible to utilize other water-insolublesalts of Magnesium without departing from the scope of the invention.
According to a further embodiment, the derivatives of water insoluble Magnesiumin the composition include minerals or ores. The ores include water insoluble ores 30containing Magnesium but are not limited to Periclase, Brucite, Magnesite. The present invention covers the water insoluble ores of Magnesium containingMagnesium level of at least 10 % selected from one or more of Periclase, Brucite,Magnesite. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that it is possible toutilize other Magnesium containing minerals and ores without departing from thescope of the invention. 5 The crop nutrition composition comprises water insoluble Magnesium salts orderivatives thereof in the range of 1%-85% w/w of the total composition. The cropnutrition composition comprises Magnesium salts or derivatives thereof in therange of 3%-85% w/w of the total composition. The crop nutrition composition 10preferably comprises water insoluble Magnesium salts or derivatives thereof in therange of 5%-85% w/w of the total composition.
According to an embodiment, the crop nutrition composition in the form of waterdispersible granules comprises water insoluble Magnesium salts or derivatives 15thereof in the range of 1%-85% w/w of the total composition. According to a furtherembodiment, the crop nutrition composition in the form of water dispersiblegranules comprises water insoluble Magnesium salts or derivatives thereof in therange of 3%-85% w/w of the total composition. According to a further embodiment,the crop nutrition composition in the form of water dispersible granules preferably 20comprises water insoluble Magnesium salts or derivatives thereof in the range of5%-85% w/w of the total composition.
According to a preferred embodiment, the crop nutrition composition in the formof aqueous suspension comprises water insoluble Magnesium salts or derivatives 25thereof in the range of 1%-65% w/w of the total composition. According to furtherpreferred embodiment, the crop nutrition composition in the form of aqueoussuspension comprises water insoluble Magnesium salts or derivatives thereof in therange of 1%-60% w/w of the total composition.30 According to an embodiment, the present composition comprises water solublePotassium salt or derivatives thereof; wherein the elemental Potassium content inthe present composition is in the range of 1% to 50% by weight of the totalcomposition. According to an embodiment, the present composition compriseswater soluble Potassium salts or derivatives thereof; wherein the elemental 5Potassium content in the present composition is in the range of 1% to 45% byweight of the total composition. According to an embodiment, the presentcomposition comprises water soluble Potassium salts or derivatives thereof;wherein the elemental Potassium content in the present composition is in the rangeof 1% to 40% by weight of the total composition. According to an embodiment, the 10present composition comprises water soluble Potassium salt or derivatives thereof;wherein the elemental Potassium content in the present composition is in the rangeof 2% to 50% by weight of the total composition. According to a preferredembodiment, the present composition comprises water soluble Potassium salts orderivatives thereof; wherein the elemental Potassium content in the present 15composition is in the range of 3% to 50% by weight of the total composition.
According to an embodiment, the present composition in the form of waterdispersible granules comprises water soluble Potassium salt or derivatives thereof;wherein the elemental Potassium content in the present composition is in the range 20of 1% to 50% by weight of the total composition. According to an embodiment, thepresent composition in the form of water dispersible granules comprises watersoluble Potassium salts or derivatives thereof; wherein the elemental Potassiumcontent in the present composition is in the range of 2% to 50% by weight of thetotal composition. According to a preferred embodiment, the present composition 25in the form of water dispersible granules comprises water soluble Potassium saltsor derivatives thereof; wherein the elemental Potassium content in the presentcomposition is in the range of 3% to 50% by weight of the total composition.
According to an embodiment, the present composition in the form of aqueous 30suspension comprises water soluble Potassium salt or derivatives thereof; wherein the elemental Potassium content in the present composition is in the range of 1% to50% by weight of the total composition. According to an embodiment, the presentcomposition in the form of aqueous suspension comprises water soluble Potassiumsalts or derivatives thereof; wherein the elemental Potassium content in the presentcomposition is in the range of 1% to 30% by weight of the total composition. 5According to a preferred embodiment, the present composition in the form ofaqueous suspension comprises water soluble Potassium salts or derivatives thereof;wherein the elemental Potassium content in the present composition is in the rangeof 1% to 10% by weight of the total composition.According to a further embodiment, the water soluble Potassium salt include butare not limited to one or more of Potassium Carbonate, Potassium Selenide,Potassium Sulfate, Potassium Silicates, Potassium Hydroxide, PotassiumSchoenite, Potassium Bicarbonate, Potassium Persulfate and Potassium Humate.However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that it is possible to utilize other 15water soluble salts of Potassium without departing from the scope of the invention.
According to an embodiment, the crop nutrition composition is devoid of PotassiumChloride.According to a further embodiment, the derivatives of water soluble Potassium inthe composition include minerals or ores. The ores include water soluble orescontaining Potassium but are not limited to Carnallite, Leucite, Schoenite,Picromerite, Glauconite, Biotite, Langbeinite. The present invention covers thewater soluble ores of Potassium containing Potassium level of at least 4% selected 25from one or more of Carnallite, Leucite, Schoenite, Picromerite, Glauconite,Biotite, Langbeinite. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that it ispossible to utilize other water soluble Potassium containing minerals and oreswithout departing from the scope of the invention.30 The crop nutrition composition comprises water soluble Potassium salts orderivatives thereof in the range of 1%-85% w/w of the total composition. The cropnutrition composition comprises water soluble Potassium salts or derivativesthereof in the range of 3%-85% w/w of the total composition. The crop nutritioncomposition more preferably comprises water soluble Potassium salts or derivatives 5thereof in the range of 5%-85% w/w of the total composition.
According to an embodiment, the crop nutrition composition in the form of waterdispersible granules comprises water soluble Potassium salts or derivatives thereofin the range of 1%-85% w/w of the total composition. According to a further 10embodiment, the crop nutrition composition in the form of water dispersiblegranules comprises water soluble Potassium salts or derivatives thereof in the rangeof 3%-85% w/w of the total composition. According to a preferred embodiment,the crop nutrition composition in the form of water dispersible granules compriseswater soluble Potassium salts or derivatives thereof in the range of 5%-85% w/w of 15the total composition.
According to a preferred embodiment, the crop nutrition composition in the formof aqueous suspension comprises water soluble Potassium salts or derivativesthereof in the range of 1%-40% w/w of the total composition. According to a further 20preferred embodiment, the crop nutrition composition in the form of aqueoussuspension comprises water soluble Potassium salts or derivatives thereof in therange of 1%-30% w/w of the total composition. According to a further preferredembodiment, the crop nutrition composition in the form of aqueous suspensioncomprises water soluble Potassium salts or derivatives thereof in the range of 1%- 2520% w/w of the total composition.
According to an embodiment, the present invention relates to a crop nutritioncomposition in the form of water dispersible granules comprising:(i) one or more of water insoluble Magnesium salts or derivatives thereof in 30the range of 1%-85% w/w of the total composition, (ii) one or more of water soluble Potassium salts or derivatives thereof in therange of 1%-85% w/w of the total composition,(iii) one or more of surfactants selected from one or more of anionic and non-ionic surfactants,wherein the composition has elemental Magnesium content in the range of 1% 5to 50% by weight of the total composition, andwherein the composition has elemental Potassium content in the range of 1% to50% by weight of the total composition, andwherein the surfactant is in the range of 0.1% to 40% by weight of the totalcomposition, and 10wherein the composition comprises particles in the size range of 0.1 micron-30microns.
According to an embodiment, the present invention relates to a crop nutritioncomposition in the form of aqueous suspension comprising: 15(i) one or more of water insoluble Magnesium salts or derivatives thereof inthe range of 1%-65% w/w of the total composition,(ii) one or more of water soluble Potassium salts or derivatives thereof in therange of 1%-20% w/w of the total composition,(iii) one or more of surfactants selected from one or more of anionic and non- 20ionic surfactants,wherein the composition has elemental Magnesium content in the range of 1%to 50% by weight of the total composition, andwherein the composition has elemental Potassium content in the range of 1% to50% by weight of the total composition, and 25wherein the surfactant is in the range of 0.1% to 40% by weight of the totalcomposition, andwherein the composition comprises particles in the size range of 0.1 micron-30microns.30 According to an embodiment, the present invention relates to a crop nutritioncomposition in the form of water dispersible granules or aqueous suspensioncomprising:(i) one or more of water insoluble Magnesium salts or derivatives thereof inthe range of 3 to 85% by weight of the total composition, 5(ii) one or more of water soluble Potassium salts or derivatives thereof in therange of 3 to 85% by weight of the total composition,(iii) one or more of surfactants in the range of 0.1% to 40% by weight of thetotal composition,wherein the composition has elemental Magnesium content in the range of 1% 10to 50% by weight of the total composition, andwherein the composition has elemental Potassium content in the range of 1% to50% by weight of the total composition, andwherein the composition comprises particles in the size range of 0.1 micron-30microns. 15 According to an embodiment, the present invention relates to a crop nutritioncomposition in the form of water dispersible granules or aqueous suspensioncomprising:(i) one or more of water insoluble Magnesium salts or derivatives thereof 20selected from Magnesium Molybdate, Magnesium Hydroxide, CalciumMagnesium Phosphate, Magnesium Phosphate, Magnesium Humate,Magnesium Carbonate, Magnesium Aluminium Silicate, CalciumMagnesium Silicate, Magnesium Tartrate, Magnesium Trisilicate,Magnesium Oxalate, Magnesium Fulvate, Magnesium Silicate, Magnesium 25Oxide, Periclase, Brucite and Magnesite,(ii) one or more of water soluble Potassium salts or derivatives thereof selectedfrom Potassium Carbonate, Potassium Selenide, Potassium Sulfate,Potassium Silicates, Potassium Bicarbonate, Potassium Persulfate,Potassium Hydroxide, Potassium Schoenite, Potassium Humate, Carnallite, 30Leucite, Picromerite, Glauconite, Biotite and Langbeinite, (iii) one or more of surfactants,wherein the composition has elemental Magnesium content in the range of 1%to 50% by weight of the total composition, andwherein the composition has elemental Potassium content in the range of 1% to50% by weight of the total composition, and 5wherein the surfactant is in the range of 0.1 to 40% by weight of the totalcomposition, andwherein the composition comprises particles in the size range of 0.1 micron-30microns.According to an embodiment, the crop nutrition composition in the form of waterdispersible granules and aqueous suspension has a particle size of 0.1 micron to 30microns, preferably in the range of 0.1 micron to 15 microns.
It was further observed that the present composition when formulated at a specific 15particle size of 0.1 micron to 30 microns, in particular 0.1 micron to 15 micronsmade the nutrients specifically Magnesium and Potassium readily available foruptake by the plants and increased the overall yield. Thus, the particle size rangeof 0.1 micron to 30 microns of the crop nutrition composition was found to beimportant not only in terms of ease of invention but also in terms of efficacy. 20 According to another embodiment, the crop nutrition composition of the presentinvention in the form of water dispersible granules comprises particles havingdiameter distribution of D90 of about 20 microns. According to anotherembodiment, the crop nutrition composition of the present invention in the form of 25water dispersible granules comprises particles having a diameter distribution ofD90 of about 10 microns.
According to an embodiment, the crop nutrition composition is in the form of waterdispersible granules, wherein the granules are in the size range of 0.05 mm to 5.0 30mm. According to further embodiment, the water dispersible granules are in the size range of 0.05 mm to 3 mm. The crop nutrition composition in the form of waterdispersible granules is made by various techniques such as spray drying, fluidizedbed granulation, extrusion, freeze drying, spheronization etc.
According to an embodiment, the crop nutrition composition in the form of water 5dispersible granules when added to water, disperse into particles in the size rangeof 0.1 micron to 30 microns, preferably into the particles in the size range of 0.1micron to 15 microns.
According to an embodiment, the crop nutrition composition may further comprise 10at least one additional water insoluble/soluble plant nutrient.
According to an embodiment, the additional water insoluble plant nutrient is presentin the range of from 0.001% to 40% by weight of the total composition.According to further embodiment, the additional plant nutrient comprises at leastone micronutrient or trace elements or its salts or derivatives thereof in the range of0.01% to 40% by weight of the total composition by weight of the total composition.
According to still further embodiment, the micronutrient is Molybdenum (Mo); 20wherein Molybdenum is in its elemental form or its salts or derivatives or mixturesthereof.
According to further embodiment, the crop nutrition composition further comprisesMolybdenum; wherein the composition has elemental Molybdenum content is in 25the range of 0.001 to 10% by weight of the total composition.
According to further embodiment, the Molybdenum salts are present in the watersoluble form or water insoluble form and include but are not limited to one or moreof Sodium Molybdate, Ammonium Molybdate, Molybdenum Trioxide, 30Molybdenite, Molybdenum Frits, Molybdenum Acetate, Molybdenum Oxide, Molybdenum Carbonate, Molybdenum Silicate, Calcium Molybdate, MolybdenumZinc Oxide, Molybdenum Dioxide, Molybdenum Sulphide, MolybdenumHexacarbonyl, Molybendum Telluride, Molybdenum Disulphide and MolybdenumDisilicide. According to further embodiment, Molybdenum can be in the form ofelemental molybdenum or Molybdenum dust. However, those skilled in the art will 5appreciate that it is possible to utilize other molybdenum salts without departingfrom the scope of the invention.
According to a further embodiment, Molybdenum derivatives include complexes,minerals or ores of Molybdenum, but are not limited to one or more of 10bis(benzene)molybdenum (Mo(C6H6)2), tris(butadiene)molybdenum,Molybdenite, Wulfenite, and Chillagite. However, those skilled in the art willappreciate that it is possible to utilize other derivatives of Molybdenum withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention.According to an embodiment, the crop nutrition composition comprisesMolybdenum salts or derivatives thereof in the range of 0.001% w/w to 20% w/wof the total composition.
According to an embodiment, the crop nutrition composition is devoid of fertilizers 20that primarily comprise ammonium sulfate, urea or other conventional fertilizers.
According to an embodiment, the crop nutrition composition does not foresee theaddition of water treatment plant sludge or is devoid of water treatment plant sludge.The crop nutrition composition comprises one or more of agrochemicallyacceptable excipient selected from one or more of surfactants, fillers or carriers ordiluents, spreading agents, colorants, anticaking agents, binders, buffers or pHadjusters or neutralizing agents, disintegrating agents, pigments, stabilizers,antifoaming agents or defoamers, penetrants, structuring agents, humectants, 30sticking agents, anti-freezing agent or freeze point depressants, chelating or complexing or sequestering agents preservatives or bactericides or anti-fungalagents or biocides or anti-microbial agents or antioxidants.
According to an embodiment, the agrochemical excipients are present in aconcentration range of 0.01% to 98% by weight of the total composition. According 5to an embodiment, the agrochemical excipients are present in a concentration rangeof 0.01% to 95% by weight of the total composition.
According to an embodiment, the surfactants that are used in the crop nutritioncomposition include one or more of emulsifiers, wetting agents, and dispersing 10agents. According to an embodiment, the surfactants that are used in thecomposition include one or more of anionic, non-ionic, and polymeric surfactants.
The anionic surfactants include one or more of, but are not limited to a salt of FattyAcid, a Polycarboxylate, Alkyl Ether Sulfates, an Alkyl Sulfate, an 15Alkylarylsulfate, an Alkylaryl Sulfonate, an Aryl Sulfonate, a Lignin Sulfonate, anAlkyl Diphenyl Ether Disulfonate, a Polystyrene Sulfonate, a Salt ofAlkylphosphoric Acid Ester, an Alkylaryl Phosphate, a Styrylaryl Phosphate, a SaltOf Polyoxyethylene Alkyl Ether Sulfuric Acid Ester, Alpha Olefin SulfonateSodium Salt, Alkyl Benzene Sulfonate or its Salts, Sodium Lauroylsarcosinate, 20Sulfosuccinates, Polyacrylates, Alkyl Ether Phosphate, a Salt ofPolyoxyethylenealkylaryl Phosphoric Acid Ester, Sulfosuccinates -Mono and otherDiesters, Phosphate Esters, Alkyl Naphthalene Sulfonate-Isopropyl and ButylDerivatives, Alkyl Aryl Ether Phosphates, a salt of Polyoxyethylene Aryl EtherPhosphoric Acid Ester, Mono-Alkyl Sulphosuccinates, Aromatic Hydrocarbon 25Sulphonates, Ammonium Laurylsulphate, Soap, Soap Substitute, Sodium AlkylSulfate, Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate, Sodium Dodecylbenzenesulfonate, SodiumLaurate, Sodium Laureth sulfate, Sodium Nonanoyloxybenzenesulfonate, AlkylCarboxylates, Sodium Stearate, Alpha Olefin Sulphonates, Naphthalene SulfonateSalts, Alkyl Naphthalene Sulfonate Fatty Acid salts, Naphthalene Sulfonate 30condensates–Sodium salt, Fatty Alcohol Sulphates, Alkyl Naphthalene Sulfonate condensates–Sodium Salt, A Naphthalene Sulfonic acid Condensed withFormaldehyde or a Salt of Alkylnaphthalene Sulfonic acid condensed withFormaldehyde or salts or derivatives thereof. However, those skilled in the art willappreciate that it is possible to utilize different anionic surfactants without departingfrom the scope of the present invention. 5 The non-ionic surfactants or polymeric surfactants include one or more of but arenot limited to Polyol Esters, Polyol Fatty Acid Esters, Ethoxylated andPropoxylated Fatty Alcohols, EO and PO Block Copolymers, Di, Tri-BlockCopolymers;, Polysorbates, Alkyl Polysaccharides, Polyoxyethylene Glycol, 10Sorbitan Derivatives, Fatty Acid Esters of Sorbitan (Spans) and their EthoxylatedDerivatives (Tweens), Cocamide Monoethanolamine (MEA), Decyl, Narrow-Range Ethoxylate, Oleyl Alcohol, PEG-10, Polysorbate, Polysorbate 20,Polysorbate 80, Sorbitan, Sorbitanmonolaurate, Sorbitanmonostearate,Sorbitantristearate, Stearyl Alcohol, Castor Oil Ethoxylate, Polyglycol Ethers, 15Polyadducts of Ethylene Oxide and Propylene Oxide, Polyoxy Ethylene Sorbitan,Fatty Acid Polyglyceride, Polyoxyethylene Alkyl Ether, PolyoxyethylenealkylarylEther, a Polyoxyethylenestyrylaryl Ether, a Polyoxyethylene Glycol Alkyl Ether,Alcohol Ethoxylates- C6 to C16/18 Alcohols, Linear and Branched, AlcoholAlkoxylates- various Hydrophobes and EO/PO contents and ratios, a 20Polyoxyethylene Hydrogenated Castor oil, salts or derivatives thereof. However,those skilled in the art will appreciate that it is possible to utilize different non-ionicsurfactants or polymeric surfactants without departing from the scope of the presentinvention.According to an embodiment, the surfactant is present in an amount of 0.1% to 40%w/w of the total composition. According to an embodiment, the surfactant is presentin an amount of 0.1% to 30% w/w of the total composition.
According to an embodiment, the dispersing agents that are used in the crop 30nutrition composition include, but are not limited to non-ionic dispersants selected from one or more of polyvinyl pyrrolidone, polyvinyl alcohol, polyoxyethylenealkyl ethers, polyoxyethylene alkyl phenyl ether, ethoxylated fatty acids, aliphaticalcohol ethoxylates, alkyl ethoxylates, EO-PO block and graft copolymers;However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that it is possible to utilize differentnon-ionic dispersants without departing from the scope of the present invention. 5 According to an embodiment, the dispersing agents which are used in the cropnutrition composition include, but are not limited to anionic dispersants selectedfrom one or more of tristyrylphenolethoxylate phosphate esters, lignin sulphonates,phenyl naphthalene sulphonates, alkali metal, alkylarylsulfonates, alkylsulfonates, 10mixture of sodium salt of naphthalene sulphonic acid urea formaldehydecondensate and sodium salt of phenol sulphonic formaldehyde condensate,polycarboxylates, sodium alkyl benzene sulfonates, sodium salts of sulfonatednaphthalene, sodium naphthalene sulfonate formaldehyde condensates,condensation products of aryl sulphonic acids and formaldehyde, polyaromatic 15sulfonates, sodium alkyl aryl sulfonates and kraft lignin. However, those skilled inthe art will appreciate that it is possible to utilize different anionic dispersantswithout departing from the scope of the present invention.
According to an embodiment, the dispersing agent is present in an amount of 0.1%- 2040% w/w of the total composition. According to an embodiment, the dispersingagent is present in an amount of 0.1%-30% w/w of the total composition.
According to an embodiment, the wetting agents used in the crop nutritioncomposition include, but are not limited to one or more of phenol naphthalene 25sulphonates, alkyl naphthalene sulfonate, sodium alkyl naphthalene sulfonate,naphthalene sulphonate sodium salt, dibutylnaphthalene sulfonic acid,alkylarylsulfonates, dioctyl sulfosuccinate, polyoxyethoxylated fatty alcohols,alkane sulfonates, alkylbenzene sulfonates, alkyl ether phosphates, alkyl ethersulphates and alkyl sulfosuccinic monoesters, salts or derivatives thereof. However, 30 those skilled in the art will appreciate that it is possible to utilize different wettingagents without departing from the scope of the present invention.
According to an embodiment, the wetting agent is present in an amount of 0.1%-30% w/w of the total composition. 5 According to an embodiment, the carriers that are used in the crop nutritioncomposition include, but are not limited to one or more of solid carriers or fillers ordiluents. According to another embodiment, the carriers include mineral carriers,plant carriers, synthetic carriers, water-soluble carriers. However, those skilled in 10the art will appreciate that it is possible to utilize different carriers without departingfrom the scope of the present invention.
The solid carriers include natural minerals like clay such as china clay, acid clay,kaolin such as kaolinite, dickite, nacrite, and synthetic and diatomaceous silicas, 15micas, such as pyrophyllite, talc, silicas such as cristobalite and quartz, such asattapulgite and sepiolite, vermiculite, laponite, pumice, bauxite, hydrated aluminas,perlite, sodium bicarbonate, limestone, natural and synthetic silicates, silicas,surface-modified silicas, zeolite, diatomaceous earth, loess, mirabilite, whitecarbon, slaked lime, synthetic silicic acid, starch, modified starch, cellulose, plant 20carriers such as cellulose, chaff, wheat flour, wood flour, starch, rice bran, wheatbran, and soybean flour, casein sodium, sucrose, salt cake, potassiumpyrophosphate, sodium tripolyphosphate or derivatives or mixtures thereof..
According to an embodiment, the carrier is present in an amount of 0.1% to 95% 25w/w of the composition. According to a further embodiment, the carrier is presentin an amount of 0.1% to 80% w/w of the composition.
According to an embodiment, the antifoaming agents or defoamers which are usedin the crop nutrition composition include but are not limited to one or more of silica, 30siloxane, silicone dioxide, polydimethyl siloxane, alkyl polyacrylates, ethylene oxide/propylene oxide copolymers, silicone oils and magnesium stearate orderivatives thereof. Preferred antifoaming agents include silicone emulsions, long-chain alcohols, fatty acids, fluoro-organic compounds). However, those skilled inthe art will appreciate that it is possible to utilize different antifoaming agentswithout departing from the scope of the present invention. 5 According to an embodiment, the anti-foaming agent is present in an amount of0.01% to 20% w/w of the total composition.
According to an embodiment, the pH-adjusters or buffers or neutralizing agents that 10are used in the composition include both acids and bases of the organic or inorganictype and mixtures thereof. According to a further embodiment, pH-adjusters orbuffers or neutralizing agents include, but are not limited to one or more of organicacids, inorganic acids, and alkali metal compounds or salts, derivatives thereof.According to an embodiment, the organic acids include, but are not limited to one 15or more of citric, malic, adipic, fumaric, maleic, succinic, and tartaric acids, or salts,derivatives thereof, and the mono, di, or tribasic salts of these acids or derivativesthereof. According to an embodiment, the salts of inorganic acids include, but arenot limited to one or more of alkali metal salts such as, sodium chloride, sodiumnitrate, potassium nitrate, sodium sulfate, potassium sulfate, sodium monohydrogen 20phosphate, potassium monohydrogen phosphate, sodium dihydrogen phosphate,potassium dihydrogen phosphate and the like. Mixtures can also be used to createa pH-adjusters or buffers or neutralizing agents. However, those skilled in the artwill appreciate that it is possible to utilize different pH adjusters without departingfrom the scope of the present invention. 25 According to an embodiment, the pH adjuster or buffer is present in an amount of0.01% to 20% w/w of the total composition.
According to an embodiment, the anticaking agents which are used in the crop 30nutrition composition include, but are not limited to one or more of polysaccharides such as fumed and precipitated silica (white carbon), ester gum, a petroleum resin,sodium stearate, polyoxyethylene (100) stearylether, sodium acetate, sodiummetasilicate, sodium alkylsulfosuccinates or derivatives thereof. However, thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that it is possible to utilize different anticakingagents without departing from the scope of the present invention. 5 According to an embodiment, the anticaking agent is present in an amount of 0.1%to 20% w/w of the total composition.
According to an embodiment, the spreading agents which are used in the 10composition include but are not limited to one or more of copolymer of maleic acidwith a styrene compound, a (meth)acrylic acid copolymer, aliphatic alcohols,vegetable oils such as cottonseed or inorganic oils, petroleum distillates,trisiloxanes and modified trisiloxanes or derivatives thereof. However, those skilledin the art will appreciate that it is possible to utilize different spreading agents 15without departing from the scope of the present invention.
According to an embodiment, the spreading agent is present in an amount of 0.01%to 20% w/w of the total composition.According to an embodiment, the sticking agents which are used in the compositioninclude, but are not limited to one or more of paraffin, a polyamide resin,polyacrylate, polyoxyethylene, wax, latex, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, gums such asxanthan gum, vegetable oils such as cottonseed, or inorganic oils, petroleumdistillates, modified trisiloxanes, polyglycol, a synthetic resin emulsion or salts or 25derivatives thereof. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that it ispossible to utilize different sticking agents without departing from the scope of thepresent invention.
According to an embodiment, the sticking agent is present in an amount of 0.01% 30to 30% w/w of the total composition.
According to an embodiment, the structuring agents that are used in the cropnutrition composition include, but are not limited to one or more of thickeners,viscosity modifiers, tackifiers, suspension aids, rheological modifiers or anti-settling agents. A structuring agent prevents sedimentation of the active ingredient 5particles after prolonged storage.
According to an embodiment, the structuring agents which are used in thecomposition include, but are not limited to one or more of polyacrylics,polysaccharides, cellulose derivatives, co-polymers of cellulose derivatives, 10polyvinyl alcohol and derivatives; clays such as kaolin, smectite, attapulgites andgums such as guar gum, xanthan gum, gelatin, dextrin, fumed silica, mixture offumed silica and fumed aluminium oxide, swellable polymers, poly(ethyleneglycol), stachyose, celluloses such as hemicellulose, carboxymethylcellulose,ethylcellulose, hydroxyethylcellulose, hydroxy-methyl ethyl cellulose, hydroxyl 15ethyl propyl cellulose, methylhydroxyethylcellulose, methylcellulose, plantstarches such as corn starch and potato starch. However, those skilled in the art willappreciate that it is possible to utilize different structuring agents without departingfrom the scope of the present invention.Preferred structuring agents include one or more of xanthan gum, aluminumsilicate, Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, carboxymethyl cellulose,methylcellulose, polysaccharide, alkaline earth metal silicate, clays, gelatin, andpolyvinyl alcohol.According to an embodiment, the structuring agent is present in an amount of 0.01%to 20% w/w of the composition. According to an embodiment, the structuring agentis present in an amount of 0.01% to 10% w/w of the composition. According to anembodiment, the structuring agent is present in an amount of 0.01% to 5% w/w ofthe composition. 30 According to an embodiment, the anti-freezing agents or freezing point depressantsused in the composition include, but are not limited to one or more of polyhydricalcohols such as ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, propyleneglycol, glycerol, monohydric or polyhydric alcohols, glycol ethers, glycerol,However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that it is possible to utilize different 5anti-freezing agents without departing from the scope of the present invention.
According to an embodiment, the anti-freezing agent or freezing point depressantis present in an amount of 0.01% to 30% w/w of the total composition.According to an embodiment, the chelating or complexing or sequestering agentswhich are used in the composition include, but are not limited to one or more ofpolycarboxylic acids such as polyacrylic acid and the various hydrolyzedpoly(methyl vinyl ether/maleic anhydride); N-hydroxyethyliminodiacetic acid,nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA), N,N,N',N'-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, N- 15hydroxyethyl-N, N',N'-ethylenediaminetriacetic acid and N,N,N',N",N"-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid; α-hydroxy acids, such as citric acid, tartaricacid and gluconic acid; orthophosphates, disodium phosphate, monosodiumphosphate; condensed phosphates, such as sodium tripolyphosphate, tetrasodiumpyrophosphate, sodium hexametaphosphate and sodium tetrapolyphosphate; 20ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA), diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid(DTPA), N-hydroxyethyl-ethylenediamine-triacetic acid (HEDTA),ethylenediaminediacetate (EDDA), ethylenediaminedi(o-hydroxyphenylacetic)acid (EDDHA), cyclohexane diamine tetraacetic acid (CDTA), fulvic acid, ulmicacid, nucleic acids, cyclodextrin, humic acid, pyrophosphate. However, those 25skilled in the art will appreciate that it is possible to utilize different chelating agentswithout departing from the scope of the present invention.
According to an embodiment, the chelating agent is present in an amount of 0.01%to 30% w/w of the total composition. 30 According to an embodiment, the penetrants which are used in the compositioninclude, but are not limited to one or more of alcohol, glycol, glycol ether, ester,amine, alkanolamine, amine oxide, quaternary ammonium compound, triglyceride,fatty acid ester, fatty acid ether, N-methyl pyrrolidone, dimethyl formamide,dimethyl acetamide, or dimethyl sulfoxide, 5polyoxyethylenetrimethylolpropanemonooleate, polyoxyethylene sorbitanmonooleate polyoxyethylenetrimethylolpropanedioleate, polyoxyethylenetrimethylol propane trioleate, polyoxyethylene sorbitol hexaoleate. However, thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that it is possible to utilize different penetrantswithout departing from the scope of the present invention. 10 According to an embodiment, the penetrant is present in an amount of 0.01% to30% w/w of the total composition.
According to an embodiment, the humectants are selected from, but are not limited 15to one or more of polyoxyethylene/polyoxypropylene copolymers, particularlyblock copolymers. Other humectants are propylene glycol, monoethylene glycol,hexylene glycol, butylene glycol, ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, poly (ethyleneglycol), poly (propylene glycol), glycerol and the like; polyhydric alcoholcompounds such as propylene glycol ether, derivatives thereof. However, those 20skilled in the art will appreciate that it is possible to utilize different humectantswithout departing from the scope of the present invention.
According to an embodiment, the humectant is present in the range of 0.1% to 40%w/w of the total composition. 25 According to an embodiment, the stabilizers which are used in the agriculturalcomposition include, but are not limited to one or more of peroxide compoundssuch as hydrogen peroxide and organic peroxides, zeolite, antioxidants such asphenol compounds, phosphoric acid compounds, EDTA, sodium sulphites, citric 30acid, citrates and the like. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that it is possible to utilize other conventionally known stabilizers without departing fromthe scope of the present invention.
According to an embodiment, the stabilizer is present in the range of 1% to 30%w/w of the total composition. 5 According to an embodiment, preservatives are selected from one or more of formicacid, and derivatives of 2H isothiazol-3-one (so-called isothiazolone derivatives)such as alkylisothiazolones (for example 2-methyl-2H-isothiazol-3-one, MIT;chloro-2-methyl-2H-isothiazol-3-one, CIT), benzoisothiazolones (for example 1,2- 10benzoisothiazol-3(2H)-one, BIT, commercially available as Proxel® types fromArch Biocides Ltd.) or 2-methyl-4,5-trimethylene-2H-isothiazol-3-one (MTIT),Proxel® or Acticide® RS and Kathon® MK, Sodium Propinoate, SodiumBenzoate, Propyl Paraben, Propyl Paraben Sodum, Potassium Sorbate, PotassiumBenzoate, Phenyl Mercuric Nitrate, Phenyl Etehyl Alcohol, Sodium, Ethylparaben, 15Methylparaben, Butylparaben, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzothonium Chloride,Cetylpyridinium Chloride, Antioxidants includes but are not limited to one or moreof imidazole and imidazole derivatives (e.g. urocanic acid), 4,4 ′-thiobis-6-t-butyl-3-methylphenol, 2,6-di-t-butyl-p-cresol (BHT), penta erythrityl tetrakis[3-(3,5,-di-t-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)] propionate; amine antioxidants. However, those skilled 20in the art will appreciate that it is possible to utilize other conventionally knownpreservatives without departing from the scope of the present invention.
According to an embodiment, the preservative is present in the range of 0.01% to2% w/w of the total composition. 25 According to an embodiment, the pigments and colorants are selected from but arenot limited to synthetic chemicals obtained from various manufacturers. Thepigments and colorants can be water soluble or water insoluble, in the form of lakes.Dyes can be solvent dyes, acid dyes or basic dyes. However, those skilled in the art 30 will appreciate that it is possible to utilize other conventionally known pigmentsand colorants without departing from the scope of the present invention.
According to an embodiment, the pigment and colorant is present in the range of0.01% to 5% w/w of the total composition. 5 According to an embodiment, the disintegrating agents which are used in theagricultural composition include, but are not limited to one or more of inorganicwater soluble salts e.g. sodium chloride; water soluble organic compounds such asagar, hydroxypropyl starch, carboxymethyl starch ether, tragacanth, cross-linked 10sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, sodium tripolyphosphate, sodiumhexametaphosphate, metal stearates, a cellulose powder, dextrin, methacrylatecopolymer, Polyplasdone® XL-10 (crosslinked polyvinylpyrrolidone),poly(vinylpyrrolidone). However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that it ispossible to utilize other conventionally known disintegrating agents without 15departing from the scope of the present invention.
According to an embodiment, the disintegrating agent is present in the range of0.5% to 15% w/w of the total composition.According to an embodiment, the binding agents or binders that are used in theagricultural composition include, but are not limited to one or more of maltodextrin,carbohydrates such as monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides andpolysaccharides, complex organic substance, synthetic organic polymers orderivatives and combinations thereof. However, those skilled in the art will 25appreciate that it is possible to utilize other conventionally known binding agentswithout departing from the scope of the present invention.
According to an embodiment, the binder is present in the range of 0.1% to 10% w/wof the total composition. 30 The inventors have further determined that the composition of the present inventionsurprisingly has enhanced physical properties of dispersibility, wetting time,suspensibility, improved viscosity, pourability, and spontaneity of dispersionproviding ease of handling and also reduces the loss of material while handling theproduct at the time of packaging as well as during field application. 5 Wettability is the condition or the state of being wettable and can be defined as thedegree to which a solid is wetted by a liquid, measured by the force of adhesionbetween the solid and liquid phases. The wettability of the granular composition ismeasured using the Standard CIPAC Test MT-53 which describes a procedure for 10the determination of the time of complete wetting of wettable formulations. Aweighed amount of the granular composition is dropped on water in a beaker froma specified height and the time for complete wetting was determined.
According to an embodiment, the water dispersible granular composition of the 15present invention has a wettability of less than 2 minutes. According to anembodiment, the water dispersible granular composition has a wettability of lessthan 1 minute.
Dispersibility of the water dispersible granular composition of the present invention 20is determined as per the standard CIPAC test, MT 174. According to anembodiment, the water dispersible granular composition has a dispersibility of atleast 30%. According to an embodiment, the water dispersible granular compositionhas can dispersibility of at least 50%. According to an embodiment, the waterdispersible granular composition has a dispersibility of at least 70%. According to 25an embodiment, the water dispersible granular composition has a dispersibility ofat least 90%. The composition of the present invention disperses uniformly intofiner particles in the size range of 0.1 micron to 30 microns when comes in contactwith water.According to an embodiment, the crop nutrition composition in the form of water dispersible granules exhibit almost instantaneous dispersion thus making thenutrients readily available to the crops.
According to an embodiment, the composition demonstrates a dispersibility of morethan 85% under ATS. According to an embodiment, the composition demonstrates 5a dispersibility of more than 70% under ATS. According to an embodiment, thecomposition demonstrates a dispersibility of more than 50% under ATS. Accordingto an embodiment, the composition demonstrates a dispersibility of more than 40%under ATS.Attrition resistance determines the resistance of a granular material to wear. Thewater-dispersible granular composition has good attrition resistance. The Samplescan be tested for attrition as per the CIPAC Handbook specified test, "MT 178.2 -Attrition resistance of granules". According to an embodiment, the attritionresistance of the dispersible granular composition is at least 50%. According to an 15embodiment, the attrition resistance of the dispersible granular composition is atleast 80%.
According to an embodiment, the crop nutrition composition in the form of waterdispersible granules or aqueous suspension passes the wet sieve retention test. The 20test is used to determine the amount of non-dispersible material in formulations thatare applied as dispersions in water. The wet sieve retention value of theagrochemical composition in the form of aqueous suspension and granules ismeasured by using the Standard CIPAC Test MT-185 which describes a procedurefor measuring the amount of material retained on the sieve. A sample of the 25formulation is dispersed in water and the suspension formed is transferred to a sieveand washed. The amount of the material retained on the sieve is determined bydrying and weighing According to an embodiment, the crop nutrition composition in the form of water 30dispersible granule or aqueous suspension has a wet sieve retention value on a 75- micron sieve of less than 2%. According to an embodiment, the crop nutritioncomposition has a wet sieve retention value on a 75-micron sieve of less than 0.2%.The wet sieve retention value of less than 2% indicates that the crop nutritioncomposition helps in the easy invention of the formulation preventing clogging ofthe nozzles or filter equipment. 5 Suspensibility is defined as the amount of active ingredient suspended after a giventime in a column of liquid of stated height, expressed as a percentage of the amountof active ingredient in the original suspension. The test for suspensibility is done asper the CIPAC Handbook, "MT 184 Test for Suspensibility". 10 According to an embodiment, the composition of the present invention in the formof water dispersible granules or aqueous suspension has a suspensibility of at least30%. According to an embodiment, the composition has a suspensibility of at least60%. According to an embodiment, the composition has a suspensibility of at least 1580%. According to an embodiment, the composition has a suspensibility of at least90%.
According to an embodiment, the composition of the present inventiondemonstrates superior suspensibility under accelerated storage conditions (ATS). 20According to an embodiment, the composition demonstrates a suspensibility ofmore than 85% under ATS. According to an embodiment, the compositiondemonstrates a suspensibility of more than 60% under ATS. According to anembodiment, the composition demonstrates a suspensibility of more than 40%under ATS. 25 According to an embodiment, the crop nutrition composition in the form of aqueoussuspension is not highly concentrated and is easily pourable. The viscosity of a fluidis a measure of its resistance to gradual deformation by shear stress or tensile stress.30 According to an embodiment, the viscosity of the aqueous suspension is determinedas per CIPAC MT-192. A sample is transferred to a standard measuring system.The measurement is carried out under different shear conditions and the apparentviscosities are determined. During the test, the temperature of the liquid is keptconstant. According to an embodiment, the aqueous suspension composition has a 5viscosity at 25° C. of 150 cps to 2000 cps which makes it pourable. According toan embodiment, the aqueous suspension composition has a viscosity at 25° C. of200 cps to 1000 cps.
According to an embodiment, the aqueous suspension composition has a viscosity 10at 25° C. of less than 2000 cps. According to an embodiment, the aqueoussuspension composition has a viscosity at 25° C. of less than 1000 cps. Too viscousand highly concentrated composition tends to form a cake making it unpourable andthus is undesirable.According to an embodiment, the aqueous suspension composition of the inventionis easily pourable. The pourability is the measure of the percent of residue.
According to an embodiment, the pourability of the composition is determined asper CIPAC MT-148.1 by allowing the composition to stand for 24 hours and the 20amount remaining in the container after a standardized pouring procedure isdetermined. The container is rinsed and the amount remaining is determined andthe maximum rinsed residue in percent is calculated. According to a furtherembodiment, the pourability of composition is less than 5% rinsed residue.According to a further embodiment, the pourability of the composition is preferably 25less than 2.5% rinsed residue.
According to an embodiment, the spontaneity of dispersion is measured as perCIPAC MT 160. It involves preparing 250 ml of a mixture of formulation and water,mixed with only one inversion of the measuring cylinder. After standing under 30defined conditions the top nine-tenths is removed, and the remaining tenth assayed chemically, gravimetrically or by solvent extraction. The spontaneity of dispersionis readily calculated.
According to an embodiment, the suspension concentrate composition has aspontaneity of dispersion of 30%. According to an embodiment, the composition 5has a spontaneity of dispersion of 60%. According to an embodiment, thecomposition has a spontaneity of dispersion of 80%. According to an embodiment,the composition has a spontaneity of dispersion of 95%.
According to an embodiment, the composition of the present invention 10demonstrates superior stability towards heat, light, temperature and caking.According to an embodiment, the stability exhibited by the composition is at leastyears. According to a further embodiment, the stability exhibited by thecomposition is at least 2 years. According to a further embodiment, the stabilityexhibited by the composition is at least 1 year. According to a further embodiment, 15the stability exhibited by the composition is at least 6 months.
According to an embodiment, the crop nutrition composition in the form of waterdispersible granules has hardness of less than 4 Newtons. According to furtherembodiment, the crop nutrition composition in the form of water dispersible 20granules has hardness of less than 3 Newtons. According to further embodiment,the crop nutrition composition in the form of water dispersible granules hashardness of less than 2 Newtons. According to further embodiment, the cropnutrition composition in the form of water dispersible granules has hardness of lessthan 1 Newtons. 25 More preferably, the crop nutrition composition in the form of water dispersiblegranules has a nil hardness. The reference to nil hardness is indicative of the factthat the hardness of the granules cannot be measured by the hardness measuringapparatus. The hardness exhibited by the granules can be estimated by hardness 30 testers such as the ones provided by Vinsyst Portable Table Hardness Tester VTHTseries.
According to an embodiment, the present invention relates to a process forpreparing a crop nutrition composition in the form of water dispersible granules or 5aqueous suspension comprising:(i) one or more of water insoluble Magnesium salts or derivatives thereof,(ii) one or more of water soluble Potassium salts or derivatives thereof,(iii) one or more of surfactants,wherein the composition has elemental Magnesium content in the range of 1% to 1050% by weight of the total composition, andwherein the composition has elemental Potassium content in the range of 1% to50% by weight of the total composition, andwherein the surfactant is in the range of 0.1 to 40% by weight of the totalcomposition, and 15and wherein the composition comprises particles in the size range of 0.1 micron-30microns.
The crop nutrition composition in the form of water dispersible granules is madeby various techniques such as spray drying, fluidized bed granulation, extrusion, 20freeze drying, spheronization etc.
According to an embodiment, the present invention relates to a process forpreparing a crop nutrition composition in the form of water dispersible granulescomprising milling: 25i. one or more of water insoluble Magnesium salts or derivatives thereof,ii. one or more of water soluble Potassium salts or derivatives thereof,iii. one or more of surfactant,in water to obtain a slurry or wet mix. The slurry or wet mix obtained is then driedfor instance in a spray dryer, fluid bed dryer, or any suitable granulating equipment 30 to obtain water dispersible granules comprising particles in the size range of 0.1micron-30 microns; andwherein the composition has elemental Magnesium content in the range of 1% to50% by weight of the total composition, andwherein the composition has elemental Potassium content in the range of 1% to 550% by weight of the total composition andwherein the surfactant is in the range of 0.1 to 40% by weight of the totalcomposition.The water dispersible granules are further sieved to remove the undersized andoversized granules and obtain the desired size. 10 According to another embodiment, the crop nutrition composition in the form ofwater dispersible granules is also made by dry milling of:i. one or more of water insoluble Magnesium salts or derivatives thereof,ii. one or more of water soluble Potassium salts or derivatives thereof, 15iii. one or more of surfactant,in an air mill or a jet mill to obtain a mixture with fine particle size. Water is addedto the dry powder and the mixture is blended to obtain a dough or paste or wetmix, which is then extruded through an extruder to obtain the granules comprisingparticles in the size range of 0.1 micron-30 microns. The water dispersible 20granules are further sieved to remove the undersized and oversized granules andobtain the desired size.
According to an embodiment, the process for preparation of the crop nutritioncomposition in the form of aqueous suspension comprises: milling: 25i. one or more of water insoluble Magnesium salts or derivatives thereof,ii. one or more of water soluble Potassium salts or derivatives thereof,iii. one or more of surfactants, in water to obtain a homogeneous suspension witha particle size range of 0.1 micron to 30 microns,wherein the composition has elemental Magnesium content in the range of 1% 30to 50% by weight of the total composition and wherein the composition has elemental Potassium content in the range of 1%to 50% by weight of the total composition, andwherein the surfactant is in the range of 0.1 to 40% by weight of the totalcomposition.According to an embodiment, the process of preparing the aqueous suspensioncomposition involves the homogenization of one or more of surfactants in waterby feeding them into a vessel provided with stirring facilities. One or more ofwater insoluble Magnesium salts or derivatives thereof and one or more of watersoluble Potassium salts or derivatives thereof are added to the homogenized blend 10and stirred continuously for about 5 to 10 minutes until the total mixture becomeshomogeneous. Subsequently, the suspension obtained is passed through the wetmill to obtain a particle size in the range of 0.1 to 30 microns, preferably 0.1 to 10microns. If required, one or more of excipients such as structuring agent oroptionally biocide or preservatives are added to the obtained suspension, under 15continuous homogenization.
According to an embodiment, the invention further relates to the use of the cropnutrition composition as at least one of a nutrient composition, a crop strengthenercomposition, a soil conditioner composition, crop protection and a yield enhancer 20composition.
The present invention relates to a method for improving plant health or enhancingthe uptake of nutrients by the plants or plant yield; wherein the method comprisestreating at least one of a plant, a plant propagation material, locus or plant parts 25thereof, a seed, seedling or surrounding soil with the crop nutrition compositionof the present invention.
The present invention further relates to a method of treating plants and meetingtheir nutritional requirement by making essential nutrients like Magnesium, 30Potassium available to them and also unlocking other micronutrients and trace elements present in the soil which hitherto were not available because of variousfactors primarily being soil degradation on account of excessive use of syntheticfertilizers.
The present invention also relates to a method of biofortification of plant with 5essential micronutrients.
The present composition can be applied through a variety of methods. Methods ofapplying to the soil includes any suitable method, which ensures that thecomposition penetrates the soil for example nursery tray application, in furrow 10application, drip irrigation, sprinkler irrigation, soil drenching, soil injection orincorporation into the soil and such other methods. The composition also can beapplied in the form of a foliar spray.
The present composition was further observed to prevent the leaching of these 15nutrients and make them available to the fullest extent for the uptake by crops andincrease the overall yield.
It was also observed that the composition of the present invention whenformulated at a specific particle size further enhances the availability of nutrients 20Magnesium and Potassium for uptake by the plants. The present composition wasalso found to play a vital role in regulating soil pH and facilitate the uptake ofother nutrients which are trapped in soil by plants because of various factorsprimarily being soil degradation or antagonism between the nutrients on accountof excessive use of synthetic fertilizers. 25 It was further surprisingly noted by the inventors that the present composition alsoaddresses the unavailability of Magnesium which was on account of excessPotassium present in the soil due to the long-term application of NPK fertilizersand thus made magnesium quickly available for uptake. 30 The composition of the present invention met the nutritional needs of plants byproviding a balanced uptake of essential nutrients like Potassium and Magnesium.It was further surprising to observe that the use of this composition leads to ahealthier plant that could withstand pest infestation, a higher nutrient harvest inall soils types and finally improve the overall soil health. The present composition 5acts as a nutrient-use efficient composition while meeting the need of crops byproviding a multi nutritive solution with improved uptake by crops in a singleapplication.
The rates of invention or the dosage of the composition depends on the type of 10use, the type of crops, or the specific active ingredients in the composition but issuch that the active ingredient, is in an effective amount to provide the desiredaction such as crop protection, crop yield and nutrient uptake.
A. PREPARATION EXAMPLES: 15 The following examples illustrate the basic methodology and versatility of thecomposition of the invention. The water insoluble salts or derivatives ofMagnesium and water soluble salts or derivatives of Potassium exemplified in thepreparatory examples can be replaced by any other water insoluble salts or 20derivatives of Magnesium and any other water soluble sources of Potassium ascovered in the present specification varying the covered concentration rangesrespectively. The form of the composition, excipients and concentrations of theactives & excipients used in these examples can be replaced by other forms,excipients and concentrations of the actives & excipients as covered in the present 25invention. It should be noted that this invention is not limited to theseexemplifications.
A. Water Dispersible Granular composition: 1. Water dispersible granular composition of 18% Magnesium Hydroxide(7.50% elemental Mg) and 38% Potassium Carbonate (21.35% elementalK) 5 Water dispersible granular composition was prepared by blending 4 parts of sodiumlignosulphonate, 34 parts of sodium citrate, 18 parts of Magnesium Hydroxide, andparts of Potassium Carbonate to obtain a homogeneous slurry. The slurryobtained was wet ground (with water) along with 6 parts of sodium 10tripolyphosphate for one hour, in suitable wet grinding equipment to get an averageparticle size below 2.5 microns and then spray dried to get granules.
The composition has a particle size in the range of 0.1-5 microns. The granule sizeof the composition is in the range of 0.05-1.5 mm. The composition has a 15dispersibility of 80%, suspensibility of 90.2%, wet sieve retention of 0.05% on 75microns sieve, wettability of less than 5 sec and nil hardness. The compositionfurther demonstrated a suspensibility of about 80% and dispersibility of 70% underaccelerated storage conditions.2. Water dispersible granular composition of 8% Magnesium Molybdate(1.05% elemental Mg) and 81% Potassium Carbonate (45.51% elementalK).
The water dispersible granular composition was prepared as per Example 1 by 25blending 3 parts of sodium lignosulphonate, 2 parts of the sodium salt ofnaphthalene sulfonate formaldehyde condensate, 1 part of a blend of salt ofnaphthalene sulphonic acid and phenol sulphonic acid condensation product, 8 partsof Magnesium Molybdate, 1 part of clay, 4 parts of sodium sulphate and 81 partsof Potassium Carbonate. The slurry obtained was wet ground in suitable wet 30grinding equipment and then spray dried/ fluid bed dried to get granules.
The composition has a particle size in the range of microns 0.1 micron to 10microns. The granule size of the composition is in the range of 0.1-2.5 mm. Thecomposition has a dispersibility of 92%, suspensibility of 95%, wet sieve retentionof 0.02% on 75 microns sieve and wettability of less than 2 sec. The composition 5has nil hardness. The composition further demonstrated a suspensibility of about85% and dispersibility of 85% under accelerated storage conditions. 3. Water dispersible granular composition of 80% Magnesium Oxide (48.26%elemental Mg) and 5.5 % Potassium Schoenite (1.07% elemental K). 10 The water dispersible granular composition was prepared as per Example 1 byblending 6 parts of sodium lignosulphonate, 4 parts of the sodium salt ofnaphthalene sulfonate formaldehyde condensate, 3.5 parts of a blend of salt ofnaphthalene sulphonic acid and phenol sulphonic acid condensation product, 1 part 15of sodium citrate, 80 parts of Magnesium Oxide and 5.5 parts of PotassiumSchoenite. The slurry obtained was wet ground in suitable wet grinding equipmentusing suitable amount of water and then spray dried/ fluid bed dried to get granules.
The composition has a particle size in the range of microns 0.1 micron to 20 20microns. The granule size of the composition is in the range of 0.1-3.0mm. Thecomposition has a dispersibility of 65%, suspensibility of 70%, Wet sieve retentionof 0.2% on 75 microns sieve and wettability of less than 50 sec. The compositionfurther demonstrated a suspensibility of about 60% and dispersibility of 55% underaccelerated storage conditions. 25 4. Water dispersible granular composition of 34% Magnesium Oxide (20.503%elemental Mg) + 11% Potassium Silicate (5.575% elemental K) The water dispersible composition was prepared as per Example 1 by blending 34 30parts of Magnesium Oxide, 11 parts of Potassium Silicate, 6 parts of polycarboxylate, 6 parts of Kraft lignin polymer, 4 parts of sodium salt ofnaphthalene sulfonate condensate, 3 parts of sodium citrate, 3 parts of sodium laurylsulphate and 33 parts of clay along with water and thereafter milled and dried in asuitable equipment to get granules with particle size D50 of 2.5 microns and D90of 7 microns. 5The composition has a granule size of 0.1mm-3 mm, dispersibility of 45%,suspensibility of 50% and wettability of less than 35sec. The composition furtherdemonstrated suspensibility of about 40% and dispersibility of 40%, wettability ofseconds under accelerated storage conditions.5. Water dispersible granular composition of 7% Calcium MagnesiumPhosphate (1.068% elemental Mg) + 42% Leucite (7.522% elemental K) The water dispersible composition was prepared as per example 1 by blending 5parts of sodium citrate, 7 parts of Calcium Magnesium Phosphate, 42 parts of 15Leucite, 10 parts of sodium sulphate, 5 parts of sodium lignosulphonate, 2 parts ofsodium salt of naphthalene sulfonate condensate, 2 parts of sodium lauryl sulphate,parts of poly carboxylate, 10 parts of lactose and 16 parts of clay along with waterin a blender to obtain slurry. The slurry obtained was wet ground in suitable wetgrinding equipment using suitable amount of water and then spray dried/ fluid bed 20dried to obtain granules having size below 3.5 mm.The composition has particle size less than 20 microns. The composition has adispersibility of 60%, suspensibility of 65%, wet sieve retention 0.13% on 75microns sieve and wettability of less than 55sec. The composition furtherdemonstrated suspensibility of about 55% and dispersibility of 50%, wettability of 25minute under accelerated storage conditions. 6. Water dispersible granular composition of 27% Magnesium Hydroxide(11.25% elemental Mg) + 30% Potassium Silicate (15.21% elemental K) +0.095% Molybdenum Disulfide (0.057% elemental Mo) 30 The water dispersible composition was prepared as per example 1 by blending 3parts of sodium citrate, 27 parts of Magnesium Hydroxide, 30 parts of PotassiumSilicate, 0.095 parts of Molybdenum Disulfide, 7.905 parts of sodium sulphate, 9parts of sodium lignosulphonate, 4 parts of sodium salt of naphthalene sulfonatecondensate, 1 parts of sodium lauryl sulphate, 2 parts of poly carboxylate, and 16 5parts of clay along with water in a blender to obtain slurry. The slurry obtained waswet ground in suitable wet grinding equipment using suitable amount of water andthen spray dried to obtain granules in the size range of 0.1 mm -3 mm. Thecomposition has particle size in the range of 0.1 micron -15 microns. Thecomposition has a dispersibility of 85%, suspensibility of 80%, wet sieve retention 100.15% on 75 microns sieve and wettability of less than 30sec. The compositionfurther demonstrated suspensibility of about 70% and dispersibility of 75%,wettability of 55 minute under accelerated storage conditions.
B. Aqueous Suspension composition: 15 7. Aqueous Suspension composition of 40% Magnesium Hydroxide (16.67%elemental Mg) + 10% Potassium Bicarbonate (3.91% elemental K). 50 g of Ethylene Oxide (EO)/ Propylene Oxide (PO) Copolymer and 80 g of 20propylene glycol were added to water (quantity sufficient so as to make 1Lcomposition) and homogenized by feeding them into a vessel provided with stirringfacilities. 400 g of Magnesium Hydroxide and 100 g of Potassium Bicarbonate werefurther added to the homogenized blend and stirred continuously for approximatelyminutes until the total mixture was homogeneous. To the above mixture, 1 part 25of polydimethylsiloxane emulsion was added under continuous homogenization toobtain aqueous suspension. Subsequently, the suspension obtained was passedthrough the wet mill to reduce the particle size. Then, 1.2 g of xanthan gum, 1 g of1,2-benzisothiazolin-3-one and 1.5 g of polydimethylsiloxane emulsion were addedunder continuous homogenization to obtain the aqueous suspension. 30 The composition had a particle size of diameter distribution of D50 of 1.32 micronand D90 of 2.85 microns, viscosity of 250 cps and suspensibility of 95.2%,spontaneity of dispersion of 92% and wet sieve retention on 75 microns of 0.01%.The pourability rinsed residue was found to be 0.5%. The composition hassuspensibility of 85% under accelerated storage conditions. 5 8. Aqueous Suspension composition of 15% Magnesium Oxalate (3.246%elemental Mg) + 6% Potassium Schoenite (1.17% elemental K) 80 parts of tristyrylphenolethoxylate phosphate esters and 120 parts of 10monoethylene glycol were added to water (quantity sufficient so as to make 1Lcomposition) and homogenized by feeding them into a vessel provided with stirringfacilities. 150 parts of Magnesium Oxalate and 60 parts of Potassium Schoenitewere further added to the homogenized blend and stirred continuously forapproximately 10 minutes until the total mixture was homogeneous. To the above 15mixture, 1 part of polydimethylsiloxane emulsion was added under continuoushomogenization to obtain aqueous suspension. Subsequently, the suspensionobtained was passed through the wet mill to reduce the particle size. Then, 1.5 partof xanthan gum, 1 part of 1,2-benzisothiazolin-3-one and 1.5 parts ofpolydimethylsiloxane emulsion was added under continuous homogenization to 20obtain the aqueous suspension.
The composition had a particle size diameter distribution of D50 of 1.52 micronsand D90 of 2.75 microns, viscosity of 450cps, spontaneity of dispersion of 93.10,wet sieve retention on 75 microns of 0.01% and suspensibility of 90.2%. The 25pourability rinsed residue was found to be 0.4%. The composition has suspensibilityof 80% under accelerated storage conditions. 9. Aqueous Suspension composition of 25% Magnesium Oxide (15.076%elemental Mg) + 3 % Potassium Carbonate (1.69% elemental K) 30 This composition was prepared similarly to Example 6 using 40 parts ofPolyethoxylated Alcohol, 50 parts of kaolin and 100 parts of monoethylene glycol,250 parts of Magnesium Oxide, 1 parts of polydimethylsiloxane emulsion, 1 part ofxanthan gum, 1 part of 1,2-benzisothiazolin-3-one, 30 parts of Potassium Carbonateand 1.5 parts of polydimethylsiloxane emulsion in water (quantity sufficient so as 5to make 1L composition).
The composition had a particle size in the range of 0.1-8 microns, viscosity of 385cps, spontaneity of dispersion of 88.10%, wet sieve retention on 75 microns of0.05% and Suspensibility of 70%. The pourability rinsed residue was found to be 100.7%. The composition has suspensibility of 50% under accelerated storageconditions.
. Aqueous Suspension composition of 48% Magnesium Phosphate (13.32%elemental Mg) + 5% Potassium Silicate (2.53% elemental K) 15 This composition was prepared similarly to Example 6 using 50 parts ofPolyoxyethylene Glycol, 80 parts of monoethylene glycol, 480 parts of MagnesiumPhosphate, 1 part of polydimethylsiloxane emulsion, 1 part of glycerine, 1 part of1,2-benzisothiazolin-3-one, 50 parts of Potassium Silicate and 1.5 parts of 20polydimethylsiloxane emulsion in water (quantity sufficient so as to make 1Lcomposition).
The composition had a particle size range of 0.1-3 microns, viscosity of 550 cps,spontaneity of dispersion of 81.10%, wet sieve retention on 75 microns of 0.09% 25and suspensibility of 70%. The pourability rinsed residue was found to be 0.8%.The composition has suspensibility of 60% under accelerated storage conditions.
B. FIELD STUDY: Experiment 1: To study the effect of WDG, SC compositions of "water insolubleMagnesium salt and water soluble Potassium salt" on Rice Crop: Field experiment methodology: The field trials were carried out to evaluate the effect of embodiments of thecomposition of the present invention on yield of rice (paddy) at Chiloda,Gandhinagar. 10 The trial was laid out during Kharif season in Randomized Block Design (RBD)with eight treatments including untreated control, replicated four times. For eachtreatment, plot size of 40 sq.m (8m x 5m) was maintained. The test products withprescribed dose were applied as top dressing at 15 days after transplanting of the 15paddy. The paddy crop in trial field was raised following good agricultural practice.The seeds of paddy variety Gurjari, were used for raising the nursery and 25 daysold nursery was used for transplanting the trial field in 30 cm row to row and 25 cmplant to plant spacing. The active dosage of Potassium and Magnesium applied inthe field experiment is of elemental Potassium (P) and elemental Magnesium (Mg). 20 Details of experimenta) Trial Location : Chiloda, Gandinagarb) Crop : Rice (var: Gurjari)c) Experiment season : Kharif 2023 25d) Trial Design : Randomized Block Designe) Replications : Fourf) Treatments : 8g) Plot size : 8m x 5m = 40 sq.mh) Date of transplanting: 18.06.2023 30i) Date of Application : 03.07.2023 j) Method of application: Top dressingk) Date of Harvesting : 02.10.2023 The observations on yield were recorded at the time of harvesting and mean data ispresented in Table 1 to enumerate the efficacy of the WDG, SC compositions of 5"Water insoluble Magnesium (Mg) salt and water soluble Potassium (K) salt"prepared as per the embodiment of the present invention. The nutrient uptake in riceseeds was also measured by analyzing in lab.
Table 1: 10Treatment Details Active ingredientg/ha (Elemental)Yield(Kg/ha) %Increasein Yield Expected% yieldincrease K MgT1-18% MagnesiumHydroxide (elemental Mg:7.5%) + 38% PotassiumCarbonate (elemental K:21.35%)-WDG @5000g/ha as perembodiment of the presentinvention 1067.4375.12 5210 66.99(2.49)*26.80 T2- 18% MagnesiumHydroxide (elemental Mg:7.5%) WDG@ 5000g/ha 0.00 375.12 3510 12.50(0.47) T3-38% PotassiumCarbonate (elemental K:21.35%) SG @ 5000g/ha 1067.40.00 3630 16.35(0.61) T4-9% MagnesiumCarbonate (elemental Mg:2.59%) + 5% Potassium 253.45 259.47 5050 61.86(2.54)*24.33 Silicate (elemental K:2.53%) SC @ 10000g/haas per embodiment of thepresent inventionT5- 9% MagnesiumCarbonate (elemental Mg:2.59%) SC @10000g/ha 0.00 259.47 3450 10.58(0.43) T6-5% Potassium Silicate(elemental K: 2.53%) SL@ 10000g/ha 253.45 0.00 3600 15.38(0.63) T7- Kaymag PotassiumSchoenite comprisingK content 19.48% and Mgcontent 6.6%-commercially availablepowder @7000g/ha 1364 464 3638 16.60 T8-Untreated 3120 CD (at 0.5%) 73.8  Synergy factor Table 1 continued Treatment Details Nutrient concentration(mg/100Kg of seeds) Number oftillers/hill (60DAT) MeanPlantHeight(cm)30DAA N Fe K Mg T1-18% Magnesium Hydroxide(elemental Mg: 7.5%) + 38%Potassium Carbonate (elementalK:21.35%)-WDG @ 5000g/ha asper embodiment of the presentinvention 480 350 1820 1810 33 75.50 T2- 18% Magnesium Hydroxide(elemental Mg: 7.5%) WDG@5000g/ha 260 140 205 900 24 69.30 T3-38% Potassium Carbonate(elemental K: 21.35%) SG @5000g/ha 265 125 1100 110 23 68.20 T4-9% Magnesium Carbonate(elemental Mg: 2.59%) + 5%Potassium Silicate (elemental K:2.53%) SC @ 10000g/ha as perembodiment of the presentinvention 470 370 1750 1720 31 74.50 T5- 9% Magnesium Carbonate(elemental Mg: 2.59%) SC@10000g/ha 278 143 202 750 23.5 69.40 *DAA Days after Application*The selected water insoluble Magnesium salts and water soluble Potassium saltsand the concentration range of these nutrients covered in above table are exemplaryand can be replaced with other water insoluble Magnesium salts and water soluble 5Potassium salts as per the embodiment of the present invention.
From the data observed in the Table 1, it can be seen that the compositions T1 andT4 as per the embodiments of the present invention demonstrate a synergisticbehavior. 10 "Synergy" is as defined by Colby S. R. in an article entitled "Calculation of thesynergistic and antagonistic responses of herbicide combinations" published inWeeds, 1967, 15, p. 20-22. The action expected for a given combination of twoactive components can be calculated as follows: 15E = X + Y– (XY)/100Where,E= Expected % effect by mixture of two products X and Y in a defined dose.X= Observed % effect by product AY= Observed % effect by product B 20 T6-5% Potassium Silicate(elemental K: 2.53%) SL @10000g/ha 278 134 1020 100 24.3 68.70 T7- Kaymag PotassiumSchoenite comprising K content19.48% and Mg content 6.6%-commercially available powder@7000g/ha 300 180 1200 550 24.5 70.20 T8-Untreated 250 120 200 120 19.5 65.0CD (at 0.5%) -- -- --- -- -- -- The synergy factor (SF) is calculated by Abbott’s formula (Eq. (2) (Abbott, 1925).SF= Observed effect /Expected effectWhere, SF >1 for Synergistic reaction; SF<1 for antagonistic reaction; SF=1 foradditive reaction.When the percentage of yield effect observed for the combination is greater thanthe expected percentage, synergistic effect of the combination can be inferred.When the percentage of yield effect observed for the combination is equal to theexpected percentage, merely an additive effect may be inferred and wherein thepercentage of yield effect observed for the combination is lower than the expected 10percentage, an antagonistic effect of the combinations can be inferred.
From the data observed in Table 1, it can be concluded that the compositions T1and T4 as per the embodiments of the present invention demonstrate synergisticbehavior. This synergistic behavior of "water soluble Potassium salt with water 15insoluble Magnesium salt" in the form of WDG, SC as per embodiment of thepresent invention can be observed from the yield of the Rice crop.
Based on the data and the calculations, the expected percentage increase in thepaddy crop yield was 26.80% and 24.33% for treatments T1 and T4 respectively. 20However, it can be clearly seen from Table 1 above that the treatment T1 with 18%Magnesium Hydroxide (elemental Mg: 7.5%) + 38% Potassium Carbonate(elemental K=21.35%)- water dispersible granular composition (WDG) andTreatment T4 with 9% Magnesium Carbonate (elemental Mg: 2.59%) + 5%Potassium Silicate (elemental K: 2.53%)-suspension concentrate (SC), both as per 25embodiment of the present invention composition showed a 66.99% and 61.86%yield increase respectively. The synergy factor is 2.49 and 2.54 for treatments T1and T4 depicting the synergistic nature of the composition. On the other hand,treatments T2 with 18% Magnesium Hydroxide (elemental Mg: 7.5%) WDG andT3 with 38% Potassium Carbonate (elemental K: 21.35%) SG demonstrated 3012.50% and 16.35% increase in the yield of paddy rice crop respectively.
Similar trends in terms of yield were also observed with the treatment T4, whencompared to treatments T5, T6 respectively which also depicts the synergisticbehavior of the compositions of the present invention. Treatment T5 with 9%Magnesium Carbonate (elemental Mg: 2.59%) SC and T6 with 5% PotassiumSilicate (elemental K: 2.53%) SL depicted a yield of only 10.58% and 15.38% 5respectively. Thus, the treatments T1 and T4 with WDG, SC compositions as perthe embodiments of the present invention demonstrated a synergistic effectcompared to the application with individual actives.
The results are all the more surprising as the treatments T2-T3 and T5-T6 had the 10same dosage of Potassium salt and Magnesium salt (as that of T1 and T4) beingapplied to the soil at a dosage of 1067.42 g/ha of Potassium, 375.12g/ha ofMagnesium and 253.45 g/ha of Potassium, 259.47g/ha of Magnesium respectively.
It was also observed that the leaves of rice plot treated with treatments T4 and T1 15were greener as compared to Treatments T2-T3, T5-T6 and the untreated plot whereyellow leaves were observed.
It can also be appreciated from the observed results that plant height and number oftillers in the Paddy crop were found to be higher in treatment T1 as compared to the 20individual applications of actives. On comparing treatments T2-T3 it can be notedthat Treatment T1 has plant height and number of tillers of 75.50 cm and 33respectively whereas treatments T2 and T3 have a plant height of 69.30, 68.30 cm,and 24, 23 tillers respectively. The untreated control has depicted a plant height ofcm, and 19.5 tillers. 25 Moreover, when compared to commercially available product Kaymag PotassiumSchoenite-Treatment T7, the compositions of the present invention comprising acombination of water soluble Potassium salt and water insoluble Magnesium salt(T1, T4) also demonstrated superior effects despite being applied at lower dosage 30of application of Potassium and Magnesium. For instance: the increase in yield for treatment T7 was found to be 16.60% while number of tillers were 24.5 and plantheight was 70.20 cm as compared to untreated. Further, it can be also seen with T7that only 1200 mg and 550 mg of Potassium and Magnesium were available foruptake respectively. On the contrary, treatments T1, and T4 show much higheruptake of the same nutrients. 5 It can be further seen from Table 1, that treatments T1 and T4 with compositions asper the embodiment of the present invention showed a surprising uptake of nutrientslike Magnesium and Potassium as compared to treatments T2-T3 and T5-T6 (wherePotassium and Magnesium salts were used individually) even when these actives 10are applied at same dosages of application in each treatment. It can be seen that1820 mg and 1810 mg of Potassium and Magnesium were available for uptake withrespect to the WDG composition of T1 whereas only 205 mg, 1100 mg of Potassiumand 900 mg, 110 mg of Magnesium were available for uptake to the plants withrespect to Treatments T2 and T3 respectively. 15 It can also be noted that with the treatments T3 (devoid of Magnesium), the uptakeof Magnesium was found to be very less, on account of high dosages of Potassiumapplied. Further, even when both Magnesium and Potassium were supplied togetherat high dosages of application, the uptake of Magnesium was found to be poor with 20Treatment T7 as compared to individual applications of Magnesium i.e. T2 and T5.However, it was quite surprising to observe with present compositions T1formulated at specific formulation types with a specific combination of watersoluble Potassium salt and water insoluble Magnesium salt with specific particlesize and despite the supply of high dosage of Potassium, the uptake of Magnesium 25was found to be substantially increased, thereby also helped to overcome thePotassium induced soil antagonism with Magnesium.
This appreciable increase in the availability of nutrients especially Magnesiumobserved in Treatments T1, T4 vis-à-vis T2-T3, T5-T6, and T7 was noted to be on 30account of the nature of the composition formulated as per the embodiment of the invention i.e., in the form of water dispersible granular and aqueous suspensionwith particle size in the range of 0.1 microns to 30 microns which facilitated theincreased availability of the entire range of nutrients present in the composition,especially Magnesium and Potassium for uptake by the crops.The compositions of the present invention i.e. T1 and T4 also shows a significantincrease in the uptake of Nitrogen and Iron which was not observed with theindividual compositions and untreated i.e. T2-T3, T5-T6, and T7 in rice crop.
From the aforementioned data, it can be concluded that the composition comprising 10of "water soluble Potassium salt and water insoluble Magnesium salt" in the formof WDG, SC as per the embodiment of the present invention at different dosages issynergistic in nature and at covered concentration ranges demonstrated significantlyhigher uptake of nutrients, higher yield, plant height, and the number of tillers inpaddy crop. Thus, a composition of present invention was found to be highly 15nutrient-use efficient.
The inventors of the present invention have further observed that apart from theMagnesium and Potassium salts listed in the Table 1 above, other Magnesium andPotassium Salts as per the present application also exhibited similar effect in terms 20of synergy when applied as per the embodiment of the present invention.
Experiment 2: To study the effect of WDG, SC compositions of "water insolubleMagnesium salt and water soluble Potassium salt" on Groundnut Crop.Field trial was conducted for the evaluation of an embodiment of the compositionof the present invention at Jalgaon, Maharashtra on Groundnut crop, variety BG1.The trials were laid down in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with eighttreatments including untreated control, replicated four times. For each treatment,plot size of 35sq.m (7m x 5m) was maintained. The test nutritional compositions 30with various Potassium salts, Magnesium salts alone and their combination in WDG, SC varying concentration range and salts with prescribed dose were appliedas basal application at the time of sowing of Groundnut crop. The active dosagementioned in the field experiments includes dose of elemental Potassium (K) andelemental Magnesium (Mg).The details of the experiment are as follows:a) Trial Location : Jalgaon, Maharashtrab) Crop : Groundnut (BG-1)c) Experiment season : Rabi 2023d) Trial Design : Randomized Block Design 10e) Replications : Fourf) Treatments : Eightg) Plot size : 7m x 5m = 35 sq.mh) Date of Application: 11.01.2023i) Date of sowing : 11.01.2023 15j) Method of application: Basalk) Date of Harvesting : 16.04.2023 The observations were recorded at the harvesting time and the mean data waspresented in Table 2 to enumerate the efficacy of the WDG, SC compositions of 20"water insoluble Magnesium salt and water soluble Potassium salt" prepared as perthe embodiment of the present invention. The nutrient uptake in groundnut seedswas also measured by analyzing in lab.
Table 2: Treatment Details Active Ingredient(g/ha) (Elemental)GroundnutKernelYieldKg/ha %Increasein Yield Expected% YieldIncreaseK Mg T1-48% MagnesiumPhosphate (elementalMg: 13.32%) + 5%Potassium Silicate(elemental K:2.53%)-SC@ 8000g/ha as perembodiment of thepresent invention 202.76 1065.60 2690 31.22(2.73)*11.40 T2- 48% MagnesiumPhosphate (elementalMg: 13.32%) SC@8000g/ha 0.00 1065.60 2210 7.80(0.66) T3-5% PotassiumSilicate (elementalK:2.53%) SL @8000g/ha 202.76 0.00 2130 3.90(0.342) T4-24% MagnesiumSilicate. Hydrate(elemental Mg: 4.18%) +5% Potassium Hydroxide(elemental K:3.48%)WDG@ 15000g/ha asper embodiment of thepresent invention 522.68 627.48 2720 32.68(2.76)*11.84 T5- 24% MagnesiumSilicate hydrate(elemental Mg: 4.18%)WDG @15000g/ha 0.00 627.48 2200 7.32(0.62) T6- 5% PotassiumHydroxide (elemental K:3.48%) SG @ 15000g/ha 522.68 0.00 2150 4.88(0.41) T7- K-Mag by MosaicPotassium MagnesiumSulfate-Water soluble powdercomprising K content of17.43% and Mg contentof 10% @11000g/ha(Commercially availablesample) 1917 1100 2390 16.59 T8-Untreated 2050 --CD (at 0.5%) 95.8 *Synergy factor Table 2 continued Treatment Details Nutrientconcentration(mg/100Kgof seeds) Numberof pods/plant MeanPlantBranches(Number) at30DAA K Mg T1-48% Magnesium Phosphate (elementalMg: 13.32%) + 5% Potassium Silicate(elemental K:2.53%)-SC @ 8000g/ha asper embodiment of the present invention 1400 1300 29.8 7.20 T2- 48% Magnesium Phosphate (elementalMg: 13.32%) SC@ 8000g/ha120 1050 23.5 4.00 T3-5% Potassium Silicate (elementalK:2.53%) SL @ 8000g/ha1000 110 24.1 5.00 T4-24% Magnesium Silicate. Hydrate(elemental Mg: 4.18%) + 5% PotassiumHydroxide (elemental K:3.48%) WDG@15000g/ha as per embodiment of thepresent invention 1430 1340 30.5 7.50 T5- 24% Magnesium Silicate Hydrate(elemental Mg: 4.18%) WDG @15000g/ha130 1020 24.5 5.00 T6- 5% Potassium Hydroxide (elementalK: 3.48%) SG @ 15000g/ha1140 105 24.8 4.00 T7- K-Mag by MosaicPotassium Magnesium Sulfate-Water soluble powder comprising K contentof 17.43% and Mg content of 10%@11000g/ha (Commercially availablesample) 1240 600 25.2 6.00 T8-Untreated 400 120 19.5 3.90CD (at 0.5%)*DAA Days after Application From the data observed in the Table 2, it can be seen that the compositions T1 andT4 as per the embodiments of the present invention demonstrate a synergisticbehavior in terms of groundnut kernel yield. It can be observed that the synergy 5factor is 2.73 and 2.76 for treatments T1 and T4 as per embodiment of the presentinvention from Table 2 which depicts that the SC and WDG compositions of "48%Magnesium Phosphate (elemental Mg: 13.32%) + 5% Potassium Silicate (elementalK: 2.53%)", "24% Magnesium Silicate. Hydrate (elemental Mg: 4.18%) + 5%Potassium Hydroxide (elemental K: 3.48%)," are synergistic in nature. 10 Based on the data presented in Table 2 and the calculations made, the expectedpercentage increase in the groundnut kernel yield was found to be 11.40% and11.84% with respect to the treatments T-T3 and T4-T6 respectively. However, itcan be clearly seen from Table 2 above that the as per the embodiments of the 15present invention, treatment T4 showed a yield increase of 32.68% and treatmentT1 showed a yield increase of 31.22% as compared to untreated control, depictingsynergistic effect.
It was further observed that the treatments T2, T5 and T3, T6 i.e. individual 20applications of Magnesium and Potassium demonstrated only a 7.80%, 7.32%,3.90% and 4.88% increase in yield as compared to compositions of the presentinvention i.e. T1, T4.
Further, Treatments T1 and T4 exhibited highest uptake of nutrients like Mg andK, improved plant physiological parameters like number of pods/plant and numberof plant branches when compared to that of the values observed for treatments T2-T3 and T5-T6 and T7 (i.e. commercially available sample) and untreated control. 5 In addition to that, as compared to commercially available sample K-Mag byMosaic Potassium Magnesium Sulfate (T7)- water soluble powder which is sourceof both Potassium and Magnesium, Treatments T1 and T4 exhibited superior effectsin terms of yield, uptake of nutrients and growth parameters. With T7, the yield 10increase was only 16.59% wherein Potassium was applied at a dose of as high as1917 g/ha and Magnesium was applied at a dose of as high as 1100 g/ha whereaswith T4, the yield increase was 32.68% wherein Potassium was applied at a dose ofonly 522.68 g/ha and Magnesium was applied at a dose of only 627.48 g/ha whichis very less dosage as compared to that of dose applied to Treatment T7. 15 It can also be noted that even when T7 is applied at high dosage of Magnesium incombination with high dose of Potassium, the uptake of Magnesium was found tobe very low as compared to individual applications of Magnesium i.e. T2 and T5.Further, it was also observed that treatments T3 and T6 (devoid of Magnesium) also 20showed poor uptake of Magnesium from soil on account of high dosage ofapplication of Potassium. On the contrary, treatments T1 and T4 i.e. presentcompositions with a combination of water-soluble Potassium salt and waterinsoluble Magnesium salt, demonstrated a significant uptake of Magnesium ascompared to the rest of the treatments, especially compared to T7 which is applied 25at a high dosage of Magnesium. Thus, the superior effects depicted by the presentcompositions is on account of combination of water soluble potassium salt andwater insoluble Magnesium salt formulated in WDG, SC compositions having aparticle size in the range of 0.1 to 30 microns which in turn helped to overcome thesoil antagonism between Potassium and Magnesium. 30 Experiment 3: To assess the impact of particle size distribution in the compositioncomprising Potassium Silicate + Magnesium Oxide-WDG, SC compositions inSoybean.
Field experiment methodology: 5The field trial was carried out to observe the effect of WDG, SC compositionscomprising water soluble Potassium salt and water insoluble Magnesium salt inSoybean at Indore, Madhya Pradesh. The trial was laid out during Kharif season inRandomized Block Design (RBD) with eight treatments including untreatedcontrol, replicated four times. For each treatment, plot size of 30 sq.m (6m x 5m) 10was maintained. The test product compounds Potassium salt, Magnesium salt andtheir combination in WDG, SC compositions as per the present invention varyingconcentration range with prescribed dose were applied to the soil at the time ofsowing. The Soybean crop in trial field was raised following good agriculturalpractices. 15 Details of Experiment: a) Trial Location : Indore, Madhya Pradeshb) Crop & Variety : Soybean (JS335)c) Experiment season : Kharif 2023 20d) Trial Design : Randomized Block Designe) Replications : 4f) Treatments : 8g) Plot size : 6m x 5m = 30sq.mh) Date of sowing : 07.07.2023 25i) Date of Application : 07. 07. 2023j) Method of application: Soil applicationk) Date of Harvesting : 10.10.2023 The observations were recorded at the harvesting time and the mean data was 30presented in Table 3 to enumerate the efficacy of the WDG, SC compositions prepared as per the embodiment of the present invention. The nutrient uptake insoybean seeds was also measured by analyzing in lab.
Table 3: 5 TreatmentDetailsActive Ingredient(g/ha) (Elemental)Particlesize(micron) SoybeanYieldKg/ha %Increasein Yield K MgT1-5% PotassiumSilicate (elemental K:2.53%) + 75%Magnesium Oxide(elemental Mg:45.24%)-WDG @8000g/ha as perembodiment of thepresent invention 202.76 3619.20 0.1-30 2250 48.03 T2- 4.03% PotassiumCarbonate (elemental K:2.26%) + 67%Magnesium Oxide(elemental Mg: 40.42%)SC@ 8955.2g/ha as perembodiment of thepresent invention 202.76 3619.20 0.1-30 2235 47.04 T3-5% PotassiumSilicate (elemental K:2.53%) + 75% 202.76 3619.20 31-50 1760 15.79 Magnesium Oxide(elemental Mg:45.24%)-WDG @8000g/haT4-5% PotassiumSilicate (elemental K:2.53%) + 75%Magnesium Oxide(elemental Mg:45.24%)-WDG @8000g/ha 202.76 3619.20 0.1-50 1800 18.42 T5-5% PotassiumSilicate (elemental K:2.53%) + 75%Magnesium Oxide(elemental Mg:45.24%)-WDG @8000g/ha 202.76 3619.20 0.1-100 1730 13.82 T6-5% PotassiumSilicate (elemental K:2.53%) + 75%Magnesium Oxide(elemental Mg:45.24%)-WDG @8000g/ha 202.76 3619.20 100-400 1620 6.58 T7-4% PotassiumChloride (elemental K:2.10%) + 89.847%Magnesium Hydroxide(elemental Mg: 202.76 3619.20 0.1-100 1645 8.22 37.45%)-Waterdisintegrable/disaggregable granules @9664.5g/ha withhardness of 29N(Comparative Sample)T8-Untreated 1520 4.61 Table 3 continued TreatmentDetailsNutrient concentration(mg/100Kg of seeds)ProteinContentmg/kg ofseedsK Mg Zn Cu Mn CaT1-5% PotassiumSilicate (elemental K:2.53%) + 75%Magnesium Oxide(elemental Mg:45.24%)-WDG @8000g/ha as perembodiment of thepresent invention 1440 1510 70 30 36 3700 3, 00, 500 T2- 4.03% PotassiumCarbonate (elemental K:2.26%) + 67%Magnesium Oxide(elemental Mg: 40.42%)SC@ 8955.2g/ha as per 1420 1530 64 23 35 3590 2, 90, 600 embodiment of thepresent inventionT3-5% PotassiumSilicate (elemental K:2.53%) + 75%Magnesium Oxide(elemental Mg:45.24%)-WDG @8000g/ha 1120 1110 54 21.9 23 2430 1, 30, 206 T4-5% PotassiumSilicate (elemental K:2.53%) + 75%Magnesium Oxide(elemental Mg:45.24%)-WDG @8000g/ha 1240 1130 53 21.4 24 2490 1, 45, 052 T5-5% PotassiumSilicate (elemental K:2.53%) + 75%Magnesium Oxide(elemental Mg:45.24%)-WDG @8000g/ha 1205 1100 50 20.2 23.1 2430 1, 20, 670 T6-5% PotassiumSilicate (elemental K:2.53%) + 75%Magnesium Oxide(elemental Mg:45.24%)-WDG @8000g/ha 1000 700 51 20.5 22 2260 1, 10, 873 T7-4% PotassiumChloride (elemental K:2.10%) + 89.847%Magnesium Hydroxide(elemental Mg:37.45%)-Waterdisintegrable/disaggregable granules @9664.5g/hawithHardness of 29N(Comparative Sample) 1040 650 52 20.3 22.6 2355 1, 37, 989 T8-Untreated 100 120 45 10 20.5 2230 1, 00, 000 Based on the data and the calculations made, it was observed that the percentageincrease in the soybean yield was found to be 48.03% for treatment T1 i.e. thecomposition of the present invention comprising 5% Potassium Silicate(elemental K: 2.53%) + 75% Magnesium Oxide (elemental Mg: 45.24%) with 5particle size 0.1-30 microns. Further, it can be clearly seen that the treatments T3-T6 i.e. same composition applied at same dosage of Potassium and Magnesium asthat of T1 but varying particle size showed an increase in yield from 6.58% to18.42% over untreated. It was thus noted that the superior efficacy in terms of yield as well as proteincontent was observed with the water dispersible granular formulation wherein thecomposition comprised of particles in the size range of 0.1 micron-30 microns ascompared to the same composition formulated with different particle sizes. Theresults are all the more surprising as all the treatments T1, T3-T6 had the same 15dosage of Potassium salt and Magnesium salt.
Also, upon comparing T1 with T7 i.e. water disintegrable granules (comparativesample) comprising a combination of 4% Potassium Chloride (elemental K: 2.10%) + 89.847% Magnesium Hydroxide (elemental Mg: 37.45%)- withhardness of 29N formulated at 0.1 to 100 microns, there is an increase of around40% in yield with application of treatment T1.
Similarly, a substantial increase in yield was also observed with T2, which is a 5suspension concentrate formulated at 0.1 -30 microns i.e. compositions of thepresent invention as compared to T3-T7.
From Table 3, it can also be observed that there is an appreciable increase in theavailability of Potassium and Magnesium along with other nutrients (trapped in 10soil) observed for T1, T2 than with those observed with the T3-T7 and untreatedT8. Thus, the treatments T1 and T2 with particle size in the range of 0.1 micronsto 30 microns also facilitated the availability of the entire range of micronutrientspresent in the composition for uptake by the crops. Experiment No 4: To assess the efficacy of different formulations of "water-soluble Potassium salt with water-insoluble Magnesium salt" in commerciallycultivated Wheat crop fields: Field experiment methodology: 20The field trial was carried out to check the effect of WDG, SC compositions of thepresent invention comprising water soluble Potassium salt with water insolubleMagnesium salt in Wheat at Punjab (Malerkotla). The trial was laid out during Rabiseason in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with eight treatments includinguntreated control, replicated four times. For each treatment, plot size of 30 sq.m 25(6m x 5m) was maintained. The test product compounds and their combination inwater dispersible granular composition as per the present invention varyingconcentration range with prescribed dose were applied to the soil at the time of 1st irrigation of wheat (25 days after sowing). The Wheat crop in trial field was raisedfollowing good agricultural practices. 30 Details of experiment a) Trial Location : Malerkotla, Punjab.b) Crop : Wheat (var PBW-660)c) Experiment season : Rabi 2022d) Trial Design : Randomized Block Design 5e) Replications : Fourf) Treatments : Eightg) Plot size : 6m x 5m = 30sq.mh) Date of sowing : 10.11.2022i) Date of Application : 10.11.2022 10j) Method of application: Soil applicationk) Date of Harvesting : 2.04.2023 The observations were recorded at the harvesting time and the mean data waspresented in Table 4 to enumerate the efficacy of the water dispersible granular 15composition and aqueous suspension composition prepared as per the embodimentof the present invention. The nutrient uptake in wheat seeds was also measured byanalyzing in lab.
Herein, the same composition i.e. Magnesium Oxide + Potassium Carbonate was 20formulated in different formulation types such as WDG, SC, powder, pellet andwater disintegrable granules and applied exactly at same active dosage of Potassiumand Magnesium i.e. at 1544.95 g/ha and 995.28 g/ha to evaluate the effects ofdifferent formulation types.
Table 4: Treatment Details FormulationTypesActiveIngredient(g/ha)(Elemental) YieldKg/ha%Increase inYield Expected %YieldIncrease K MgT1-30% MagnesiumOxide (ElementalMg: 18.10%) + 50%Potassium Carbonate(Elemental K:28.09%) WDG@5500g/haas per anembodimentof thepresentinvention 1544.995.24060 33.11(3.97)*8.34 T2- 6% MagnesiumOxide (ElementalMg: 3.62%) + 10%Potassium Carbonate(Elemental K:5.62%) SC@27500g/ha as per anembodimentof thepresentinvention 1544.995.23990 30.82(3.69)* T3-30% MagnesiumOxide (ElementalMg: 18.10%) + 50%Potassium Carbonate(Elemental K:28.09%) WaterdisintegrableGranules@5500g/hawithhardness ofN 1544.995.23240 6.23(0.75) T4-30% MagnesiumOxide (ElementalMg: 18.10%) + 50%Potassium Carbonate(Elemental K:28.09%) Powder@5500g/ha1544.995.23250 6.56(0.79) T5-30% MagnesiumOxide (ElementalMg: 18.10%) + 50%Potassium Carbonate(Elemental K:28.09%) WDG@5500g/ha Pellet@5500g/ha1544.995.23210 5.25(0.63) T6-30% MagnesiumOxide (ElementalMg: 18.10%) WDG@5500g/ha 0.00 995.23170 3.93(0.47) T7-50% PotassiumCarbonate(Elemental K:28.09%) SG@5500g/ha 1544.0.00 3190 4.59(0.55) T8-Untreated 3050CD (at 0.5%) 75.8*Synergy Factor Table 4 continued Treatment Details No ofTillersPlantheightin cm Rootdevelopment incm Nutrient concentration(mg/100Kg of seeds) K Mg Zn Fe T1-30% MagnesiumOxide (ElementalMg: 18.10%) + 50%Potassium Carbonate(Elemental K:28.09%) 37 80.5 24.8 3600 75 43 70 T2- 6% MagnesiumOxide (ElementalMg: 3.62%) + 10%Potassium Carbonate(Elemental K:5.62%) 36 80 24.1 3480 72 40 68 T3-30% MagnesiumOxide (ElementalMg: 18.10%) + 50%Potassium Carbonate(Elemental K:28.09%) 29.5 72.6 14.1 3210 41.3 31.8 56.4 T4-30% MagnesiumOxide (ElementalMg: 18.10%) + 50%Potassium Carbonate(Elemental K:28.09%) 28 70 12.5 3240 41.7 31.6 56.3 T5-30% MagnesiumOxide (ElementalMg: 18.10%) + 50%Potassium Carbonate(Elemental K:28.09%) WDG@5500g/ha 29 71 12.3 3220 41.6 32.1 55.3 T6-30% MagnesiumOxide (ElementalMg: 18.10%) WDG@5500g/ha 28 70 11.4 3010 41.2 32.4 54.3 T7-50% PotassiumCarbonate(Elemental K:28.09%) SG@5500g/ha 28 70 12 3220 38.4 33.2 55.3 T8-Untreated 26 67 10 3050 39.2 29.4 41.2 It can be clearly seen from Table 4 that the treatment T1 with 30% MagnesiumOxide (Elemental Mg: 18.10%) + 50% Potassium Carbonate (Elemental K:28.09%)- WDG and treatment T2 with 6% Magnesium Oxide (Elemental Mg:3.62%) + 10% Potassium Carbonate (Elemental K: 5.62%)- SC, both as per an 5embodiment of the present invention showed a yield increase of 33.11% and30.82% in Wheat grain yield. However, treatment T3-water disintegrable granularcomposition, treatment T4-powder composition and treatment T5-pelletcomposition, all applied at the same active dosage of Potassium and Magnesium asthat of the same applied for T1, demonstrated only an increase of 6.23%, 6.56% and 105.25% respectively in the grain yield.
Further, based on the data and the calculations made by referring the treatments T6-T7, the expected percentage increase in the yield was 8.34%. Thus, it can be noted that the treatments T1 and T2 demonstrated a synergistic effect, as compared to thesame treatment with pellet, water disintegrable granules or with powdercompositions as well as with the application of individual actives i.e. TreatmentsT6-T7. The results are all the more surprising as all the treatments T1 to T6 had thesame dosage of Potassium and Magnesium being applied to the soil i.e. 1544.95 5g/ha of Potassium and 995.28 g/ha of Magnesium.
It was further observed that treatments T1 and T2 with composition as per theembodiment of the present invention showed increased greenness and improvedplant height and number of tillers, root development as compared to pellet, water 10disintegrable granules and powder compositions i.e. treatments T3-T5.
Moreover, it was noted that with Treatment T8-untreated, the uptake of Magnesiumwas observed to be 39.2mg/kg which was remarkably reduced to 38.4mg/kg withTreatment T7 i.e. individual application of Potassium, thus supporting the fact that 15Potassium inhibits the uptake of magnesium (available from the soil). However,upon comparing T1-T5 (applied at identical dosages of application Potassium andMagnesium), it was surprising to observe that despite the high dosage of applicationof Potassium being @1544.95g/ha in combination with Magnesium being applied@ 995.28 g/ha, there is a substantial increase in the uptake of Magnesium observed 20with T1-T2 i.e. 75 mg/kg, 72 mg/kg of seeds of wheat respectively. On the otherhand, uptake of Magnesium was substantially reduced for T3-T5 (i.e. with differentformulation types) and was found to be 41.3-41.7 mg/kg of seeds. Thus, thecompositions of the present invention also overcome the antagonism betweenPotassium and Magnesium. 25 It was thus noted that the composition of "water soluble Potassium salt and waterinsoluble Magnesium salt" in the form of WDG, SC compositions as per theembodiments of the present invention is synergistic in nature and showed asurprising enhancement in the yield as well as improved plant physiological 30parameters as compared to other known formulation types.
Experiment 5: To study efficacy of the composition of the present invention inWDG, SC forms on Cucumber crop.
The field trial was carried out to observe the effect of compositions of the present 5invention comprising water soluble Potassium salt with water insoluble Magnesiumsalt in Cucumber at Indore. The trial was laid out during Kharif season inRandomized Block Design (RBD) with five treatments including untreated control,replicated four times. For each treatment, plot size of 30 sq. m (6m x 5m) wasmaintained. The compositions of the present invention in water dispersible granular 10and aqueous suspension form were applied foliar at pre-flowering stage. TheCucumber crop in trial field was raised following good agricultural practices.
The Details of the Experiment are as follows:a) Trial Location : Indore, MP 15b) Crop : Cucumber (Var-Malini)c) Experiment season : Kharif 2023 (July 2023 to Oct 2023)d) Trial Design : Randomized Block Designe) Replications : 4f) Treatments : 5 20g) Plot size : 5x 6 = 30 sqmh) Date of sowing : 06.07.2023i) Date of Application: 25.08.2023j) Method of application: Foliar application (Pre-flowering)k) Date of Harvesting: 17.10.2023 25 The observations on flowering were recorded at 40DAA and mean data of fruit yieldat the time of harvest were presented in Table 5. The plant vigor observations weretaken at 30 days after application at 0-200% rating scale where UTC (untreatedcontrol) should be always 100%. 30 Table 5: Treatment Details ActiveIngredient(g/ha)(Elemental) YieldKg/ha %Increase inYield Plantvigorat 30days Number offruits/plantsK Mg T1-4% MagnesiumOxide (Elemental Mg:2.41%) + 80%Potassium Carbonate(Elemental K:44.95%) WDG @4450g/ha as perembodiment of thepresent invention 2000.107.311405 42.56 130 33.4 T2-5% MagnesiumOxide (ElementalMg:3.02%) + 8%Potassium Carbonate(Elemental K: 4.49%)SC @10000 g/ha asper embodiment of thepresent invention 449.4301.611210 40.13 125 32.3 T3-10% MagnesiumOxide (ElementalMg:6.03%) @15000g/ha --904.88500 6.25105 22.6 From the table 5, it could be seen that the percentage yield of the cucumber cropupon application of treatments T1 and T2 i.e. the WDG, SC compositions as per theembodiment of the present invention has been increased by 40-42% with respect tothe untreated control. The Plant vigor has also increased by 25-30% and number of 5fruits per plant has also significantly increased compared to untreated. This is anindicative of the superior nature compositions of the invention comprising acombination of water-soluble Potassium salt and water insoluble Magnesium salt.
It was further noted from the above data that the composition of treatments T1 and 10T2 although applied at reduced dosage of application when compared to theindividual compositions i.e. T3 and T4, was found to be superior in terms of yieldincrease, plant vigor and number of fruits per plant. The treatments T3 and T4shows a yield increase of only 6.25% and 13.75% against untreated.From the aforementioned data, it can be concluded that the composition comprisingof "water soluble Potassium salt and water insoluble Magnesium salt" in the formof WDG, SC as per the embodiment of the present invention demonstrated theenhanced effects over the entire concentration range covered and varying the water-soluble Potassium salt and water insoluble Magnesium salt, even when applied at 20reduced dosage of application as that of individual actives.
T4-50% PotassiumCarbonate (ElementalK: 28.09%) SC@10000 g/ha 2809.-- 9100 13.75 110 23.5 T5-Untreated -- -- 8000 -- 100 20.5CD (0.5%) -- -- 650 -- -- -- Experiment No.6: To study the effect of composition comprising a combination ofdifferent types of Potassium Salt and Magnesium Salts on Tomato Crop: The experimental site was selected based on tomato crops where the nutrientdeficiency symptoms were likely to occur, where the soil nutrient content was 5below the deficit level.
The trial was laid out during Kharif season in Randomized Block Design (RBD)with nine treatments including untreated control, replicated four times. For eachtreatment, plot size of 40 sq. m (8m x 5m) was maintained. The compositions 10evaluated include Potassium salt, Magnesium salt alone and different formulationsincluding combinations of Potassium salt with Magnesium salt. The Tomato cropin the trial field was raised following good agricultural practices. The seeds ofTomato, Abhilash, were used for the study and planted in 120 cm row-to-row andcm plant to plant spacing. The details of the experiment are as follows: 15 Details of experiment a) Trial Location : Nasik (MH)b) Crop : Tomato (variety Abhilash)c) Experiment season : Kharif 2023 20d) Trial Design : Randomized Block Designe) Replications : Fourf) Treatments : Nineg) Plot size : 8m x 5m = 40 sq.mh) Date of Application : 17.07.2022 25i) Method of application : Bend/side placementj) Date of transplanting : 17.07.2022k) Date of Pickings : 30.10.2022, 10.11.2022, 15.11.2022 The observations on fruit setting were carried out by tagging newly openedblossoms once a week, and counting the number of tagged blossoms which set fruitsone week later. The fruits were harvested six times and weighed each time.
Herein the inventors have tested various combinations of salts of Potassium and 5Magnesium and the mean data of all the observations were presented in Table 6 toillustrate the impact of combination of water soluble salt of Potassium with waterinsoluble salt of Magnesium in the form of compositions of the present inventionon Tomato yield, fruit weight and other parameters. Table 6: Treatment Details ActiveIngredient (g/ha)(Elemental) YieldKg/ha%Increase inYield Expected %YieldIncreaseK Mg T1-7.2% MagnesiumOxide (Elemental Mg:4.34%) + 25% Leucite(Elemental K: 4.48%)-WDG @ 10020 g/ha asper embodiment of thepresent invention Combination of waterinsolubleMg salt andwatersoluble Ksalt 448.9435.17 27900 38.81(2.46)*15.74 T2-24.8% MagnesiumSulphate heptahydrate(Elemental Mg:4.36%) + 25% Leucite(Elemental K: 4.48%)- Combination of Watersoluble Mgsalt andWater 448.9436.61 22300 10.95(0.70) SG @ 10020 g/ha-Comparative Samplesoluble KsaltT3-7.2% MagnesiumOxide (Elemental Mg:4.34%) + 30%Feldspar (ElementalK: 4.47%)- WDG@10035.7 g/ha -Comparative Sample Combination of WaterinsolubleMg salt andWaterinsoluble Ksalt 448.9435.85 22570 12.29(0.78) T4-24.8% MagnesiumSulphate heptahydrate(Elemental Mg:4.36%) + 30%Feldspar (ElementalK: 4.47%)-WDG@10035.7 g/ha-Comparative Sample Combination of Watersoluble Mgsalt andWaterinsoluble Ksalt 448.9437.29 22237 10.63(0.68) T5-7% MagnesiumOxalate (ElementalMg: 1.51%) + 8%Potassium Schoenite(Elemental K: 1.55%)SC composition@28800g/ha as perembodiment of thepresent invention Combination of WaterinsolubleMg salt andWatersoluble Ksalt 447.4436.26 27300 35.82(2.28)* T6-39.4% MagnesiumSulphate Heptahydrate(Elemental Mg:6.92%) + 36.7% Combination of watersoluble Mgsalt and 449.0436.12 22500 11.94(0.76) Potassium Schoenite(Elemental K: 7.13%)- SL @6300g/hacomposition-Comparative Sample watersoluble Ksalt T7- 34% MagnesiumOxalate (ElementalMg: 7.36%) WDG@5920g/ha - 0.00 435.57 21700 7.96(0.51) T8-39% PotassiumSchoenite (ElementalK: 7.57%) SG@5928g/ha - 448.90.00 21800 8.46(0.54) T9-Untreated - 0 0 20100CD (0.5%) 115.8 Table 6 continued Treatment Details Tomatofruitweight(g) Meannumberof flowersper plantat 45 daysT1-7.2% Magnesium Oxide (ElementalMg: 4.34%) + 25% Leucite (ElementalK: 4.48%)-WDG @ 10020 g/ha as perembodiment of the present invention Combination ofwater insoluble Mgsalt and watersoluble K salt 81 47.20 T2-24.8% Magnesium Sulphateheptahydrate (Elemental Mg: 4.36%) +25% Leucite (Elemental K: 4.48%)- SG@ 10020 g/ha-Comparative Sample Combination ofWater soluble Mgsalt and Watersoluble K salt 71.2 40.20 T3-7.2% Magnesium Oxide (ElementalMg: 4.34%) + 30% Feldspar (ElementalK: 4.47%)- WDG @10035.7 g/ha -Comparative Sample Combination ofWater insolubleMg salt and Waterinsoluble K salt 70.4 40.30 T4-24.8% Magnesium Sulphate(Elemental Mg: 4.36%) + 30% Feldspar(Elemental K: 4.47%)-WDG @10035.7g/ha- Comparative Sample Combination ofWater soluble Mgsalt and Waterinsoluble K salt 71.8 41.10 T5-7% Magnesium Oxalate (ElementalMg: 1.51%) + 8% Potassium Schoenite(Elemental K: 1.55%) SC composition@28800g/ha as per embodiment of thepresent invention Combination ofWater insolubleMg salt and Watersoluble K salt 79.9 46.30 T6-39.4% Magnesium SulphateHeptahydrate (Elemental Mg: 6.92%) +36.7% Potassium Schoenite (Elemental Combination ofwater soluble Mgsalt and watersoluble K salt 70.2 40.20 It can be seen from the data presented in Table 6 that the compositions of the presentinvention i.e. T1 and T5 with a combination of water-soluble Potassium (K) saltand water insoluble Magnesium (Mg) salt illustrated significant increase in yield,fruit weight and number of flowers per plant as compared to other treatments as 5shown in the table i.e. T2-T4 and T6. In particular, upon comparing T1-T4 whichwere applied at almost same dosage of Potassium and Magnesium salt and in samegranular formulation, the treatment T1 with water soluble K salt and water insolubleMg salt shows enhanced increased in yield of around 38% while treatment T2 withcombination of water soluble Mg salt and water soluble K salt, treatment T3 with 10combination of water insoluble Mg salt and water insoluble K salt and treatment T4with combination of water soluble Mg salt and water insoluble K salt shows a yieldincrease of around 10-12 %.
This unexpected and surprising increase in yield was on account of the combination 15of water soluble K salt and water insoluble Mg salt and was not observed with othercombinations i.e. water soluble Mg salt and water soluble K salt, water insolubleMg salt and water insoluble K salt and water soluble Mg salt and water insoluble Ksalt. etc. The same trend was observed in case of Tomato fruit weight; wherein theexpected fruit weight was 11.32% while treatment T1 shows 24.23% increase while 20T2-T4 depicts around 7-10% increase in yield, demonstrating a synergistic natureof the present invention.
K: 7.13%) - SL @6300g/hacomposition- Comparative SampleT7- 34% Magnesium Oxalate(Elemental Mg: 7.36%) WDG@5920g/ha - 69.3 39.30 T8-39% Potassium Schoenite(Elemental K: 7.57%) SG @5928g/ha- 68.7 38.20 T9-Untreated - 65.2 36.4CD (0.5%) Similarly, treatment T5 which is a suspension concentrate formulation comprisinga combination of water soluble K salt and water insoluble Mg salt illustrated a yieldincrease of 35.82% and fruit weight increase of 22.55% when compared to thecombination of water soluble K salt and water soluble Mg Salt in liquid formulation 5i.e. treatment T6 which was showing an increase of 11.94% and 7.67% in yield andfruit weight as compared to untreated respectively.
Experiment No. 7: To study the effect of the composition of the present inventionin comparison to traditional fertilizer practices. 10 The field trials were carried out to observe the effect of the composition of thepresent invention in the form of WDG on the availability of Magnesium, Potassiumalong with Nitrogen and Phosphorous with that of the application of traditionalfertilizer practices over a period of time on Onion Crop at Junagadh (Gujarat) 15(India).
The trials were laid down in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with the treatmentsindicated below including untreated control, replicated seven times. For eachtreatment, plot size of 40sq.m (8m x 5m) was maintained. 20 The planted onion seedlings were raised with GAP (Good Agricultural Practice)until harvesting or full development of Onion bulb.
The Details of the Experiment are as follows: 25a) Trial Location : Junagardh, Gujaratb) Crop : Onion (var. Red Onion-11) Experiment season : Rabi 2022-2023d) Trial Design : Randomized Block Designe) Replications : 13 30f) Treatments :4 g) Plot size : 8m x 5m = 40 sq.mh) Date of Application: 22.11.2022i) Date of seedling planting: 22.11.2022j) Method of application: Basal (Soil Application)k) Date of Harvesting : 02.03.2023 5 The observations on uptake on nutrients were recorded and mean data waspresented in Tables 7A, 7B to enumerate the availability of Magnesium, Potassiumalong with Nitrogen and Phosphorous. Table 7A: Tests were performed to assess the yield and nutrient availability withthe application of traditional fertilizer practices.
NPK Traditional fertilizer 19:19:19 (Treatment T1) was applied at the time oftransplanting onion seedlings, thereafter Kaymag Potassium Schoenite- 15commercially available Potassium -Magnesium source (Treatment T2) was appliedafter an interval of 45 days.
The mean values were calculated and presented as below.20 Table 7B: Tests were performed to assess the yield and nutrient availability withthe application of the composition as per the embodiment of the present invention. 25 NPK Traditional fertilizer 19:19:19 (Treatment T1) was applied at the time oftransplanting onion seedlings, thereafter a WDG composition as per embodimentof the present invention (Treatment T2) was applied after an interval of 45 days.The mean values were calculated and presented as below.
Treatment Details OnionBulbweighting/bulbatharvest Nutrientcontent inOnion bulb(ppm) atharvest NPK in leaves (ppm)at 60 days ofapplication Mg N P K T1-NPK Traditionalfertilizer 19:19:19applied @ formulationdosage of 10,000g/hafollowed byT2- Kaymag PotassiumSchoenite comprising Kcontent 19.48% and Mgcontent 6.6%-commercially availablepowder @active dose of959g/ha of K and550g/ha of Mg applied@ formulation dosageof 5,500g/ha 48.4 130 400 300 400 T3-Untreated 45.2 80 300 100 320 99Treatment Details OnionBulbweight ing/bulb atharvest Nutrientcontentin Onionbulb(ppm) atharvest NPK in leaves (ppm)at 60 days ofapplication Mg N P K T1-NPK Traditionalfertilizer 19:19:19applied @formulation dosageof 5,000g/hafollowed byT2-55% PotassiumSchoenite (elementalK: 10.68%) applied@ active dose of534.05g/ha and 35%MagnesiumCarbonate (elementalMg:10.09%)@active dose of504.53g/ha-WDG asper embodiment ofthe present inventionapplied @formulation dose of5, 000g/ha 53.6 200 500 400 480 T3-Untreated 45.2 80 300 100 320 100 It can be seen from Table 7A that the treatments T1 i.e. traditional NPK practicefollowed by T2 i.e. commercially available K-Mg product were applied at a highdosage of 10 Kg/ha and 5.5 Kg/ha respectively and still the plant has shown verypoor uptake of not only Magnesium and Potassium but also primary nutrients suchas Nitrogen and Phosphorous as compared to untreated. 5 It was thus observed that the traditional practice of application of NPK and othertreatments even at higher dosages of application did not meet the nutritionalrequirement of the plant and failed to provide even an adequate uptake ofMagnesium, Potassium and primary nutrients like Nitrogen and Phosphorous. 10 It can be further seen from Table 7B that despite the dosage of traditional NPKfertilizer was reduced to half, the said treatment followed by the composition as perthe embodiment of the present invention when applied to crops, has surprisinglyshown significant increase in the uptake of not only Magnesium and Potassium but 15also primary nutrients such as Nitrogen and Phosphorous and also the yield ascompared to untreated.
Thus, the present composition not only helps to increase the uptake of nutrients likenitrogen which was not observed with the application of traditional NPK fertilizers 20despite being applied at high dosage but also helps to reduce the dosage oftraditional NPK fertilizers, thus depicting the high nutrient use efficiency of thecomposition.
Experiment No.8: To study the effect of the composition of the present 25compositions on the yield and growth parameters on Brinjal Crop.
The trial was laid out during Kharif season in Randomized Block Design (RBD)with eight treatments including untreated control, replicated four times. For eachtreatment, plot size of 40 sq. m (8m x 5m) was maintained. The compositionsevaluated include water insoluble Mg salt and water soluble K salt and 30 101 Molybdenum salt in combination and alone. The Brinjal crop in the trial field wasraised following good agricultural practices. The seeds of Brinjal, Pusa purple long,were used for the study and planted in 120 cm row to row and 45 cm plant to plantspacing. The details of the experiment are as follows: Details of experiment 5Trial location :Nasik (MH)Crop: :Brinjal, (Pusa purple long)Experiment season :KharifTrial Design :Randomized Block DesignReplications :FivePlot size :8m x 5m = 40 sq.mType of application :Drip irrigationWater volume used: :500 L/haDate of transplanting :30.07.2022Date of application :30.08.2022 (one application)Date of Pickings :12.11.2022, 23.11.2022, 28.11.2022 The plant vigor observations were taken at 50 days after application at 0-200%rating scale where UTC (untreated control) should be always 100%. Theobservations on yield were recorded at the time of harvesting and mean data ispresented in Table 8. 10 102 Table 8: Treatment Details Active dosage(Elemental) (g/ha)No.ofFruitsperplant Plantvigor(0-200)at50DAA Yield(T/ha)Total ofpickings % yieldincreaseK Mg Mo T1-27% MagnesiumHydroxide(elemental Mg:11.25%) + 30%Potassium Silicate(elementalK:15.21%) + 0.095%MolybdenumDisulfide (elementalMo: 0.057%)-WDG@ 5500g/ha as perembodiment of thepresent invention 836.39 618.95 3.13 15 150 9.3 43.08 T2- 27% MagnesiumHydroxide(elemental Mg:11.25%) WDG@5500g/ha 836.39 0 0 10 113 7.5 15.38 T3-30% PotassiumSilicate (elementalK: 15.21%) SG @5500g/ha 0 618.95 0 10 110 7.0 7.69 T4- 0.095%MolybdenumDisulfide (elementalMo: 0.057%)-WDG@ 5500g/ha 0 0 3.13 8 105 6.6 1.54 T5: Untreated 0 0 0 8 100 6.5 0.00 103 It can be observed from Table 8 that Treatment T1 with WDG composition of "27%Magnesium Hydroxide (elemental Mg: 11.25%) + 30% Potassium Silicate(elemental K:15.21%) + 0.095% Molybdenum Disulfide (elemental Mo: 0.057%)-WDG" as per embodiment of the present invention, was highly effective and 5demonstrated increased yield of Brinjal as compared to the individual treatments ofthe actives (T2, T3 and T4). It can be seen that the treatments T1 to T4 were appliedat same active dosage i.e. 836.39 g/ha of Potassium, 618.95 g/ha of Magnesium and3.3 g/ha of Molybdenum. The observed % increase in yield for T1 is 43.08% whilethe observed % increase in yield for T2-T4 is 15.38%, 7.69% and 6.6% respectively. 10 It can be appreciated from the observed results that the number of fruits per plantand plant vigor in the brinjal crop were higher in treatment T1 as compared to theindividual treatments of the actives. It was also observed that other plant growthparameters such as plant height, number of branches, greenness the leaves of brinjal 15plot treated with treatments T1 were superior as compared to Treatments T2-T4 andthe untreated plot where yellow leaves, stunted plant growth were observed.
Thus, the treatment T1 as per embodiment of the present invention is synergisticand provides higher crop yield and improved growth parameters as compared to theapplication of individual actives when applied at the same dosage. It was further 20noted that the presence of Molybdenum in addition to water insoluble Magnesiumsalt and water soluble Potassium salt in the composition of the present inventionimparts additional advantages when applied to the crops.
Further, the inventors of the present invention also tested the WDG, SC composition 25of the present invention on other crops like Chili, Maize. It was observed that thecomposition of the present invention may further enhance crop yield and cropcharacteristics like straw weight, oil content, greenness of crop, fruit weight,improved photosynthesis, increase chlorophyll content, plant height and also add tonutritional value of the crop. 30 104 Since water soluble Potassium salt tends to leach away, it was expected that thepresent composition would not provide the desired efficacy when applied to fields.Further, on account of the use of water soluble salt of Potassium, it was expectedthat the present composition would provide Potassium more rapidly than that ofMagnesium and thus would result in poor uptake of Magnesium by the plants in 5view of K-Mg antagonism in the soil. However, it was surprising to observe thatthe present composition not only demonstrates the enhanced effects in terms of cropyield but also in terms of uptake of Mg and K, demonstrating synergistic effects.
It is thus observed that the superior effect of the present composition is on account 10of combination of elements being a combination of water soluble K salt and waterinsoluble Mg salt formulated in WDG, SC compositions and having a particle sizeof 0.1-30 microns.
It has been observed that the composition of the present invention, demonstrates 15enhanced, efficacious and superior behavior in the fields. Through the compositionof the present invention, the number of applications or the amount of nutrients,fertilizers or pesticides are minimized. Moreover, the present composition exhibitsa surprisingly higher field efficacy at reduced dosages of application of thecomposition as compared to prior known composition. The composition is highly 20safe for the user and for the environment. This novel composition helps to improveplant yield, balanced uptake of all nutrients, reduce yellowing of leaves and plantphysiological parameters providing a nutritionally rich crop.
Further, the various advantageous properties associated with the compositions 25according to the invention, include but are not limited to improved stability,improved toxicological and/or ecotoxicological behavior, improved cropcharacteristics including crop yields, crop qualities and characteristics and otheradvantages familiar to a person skilled in the art.30 105 From the foregoing, it will be observed that numerous modifications and variationscan be effectuated without departing from the true spirit and scope of the novelconcepts of the present invention. It is to be understood that no limitation withrespect to the specific embodiments illustrated is intended or should be inferred.

Claims (19)

106 Claim, I Claim,
1. A crop nutrition composition comprising:(i) one or more of water insoluble Magnesium salts or derivativesthereof,(ii) one or more of water soluble Potassium salts or derivatives thereof,(iii) one or more of surfactants,wherein the composition is in the form of water dispersible granules or aqueoussuspension; andwherein the composition has elemental Magnesium content in the range of 1%to 50% by weight of the total composition andwherein the composition has elemental Potassium content in the range of 1% to50% by weight of the total composition, andwherein the surfactant is in the range of 0.1 to 40% by weight of the totalcomposition, andwherein the composition comprises particles in the size range of 0.1 micron-30microns.
2. The crop nutrition composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein water insolubleMagnesium salt or derivative is selected from one or more of MagnesiumMolybdate, Magnesium Hydroxide, Calcium Magnesium Phosphate,Magnesium Phosphate, Magnesium Humate, Magnesium Carbonate,Magnesium Aluminium Silicate, Calcium Magnesium Silicate, MagnesiumTartrate, Magnesium Trisilicate, Magnesium Oxalate, Magnesium Fulvate,Magnesium Silicate, Magnesium Oxide, Periclase, Brucite and Magnesite.
3. The composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein Potassium salt or derivative isselected from one or more of Potassium Carbonate, Potassium Selenide,Potassium Sulfate, Potassium Silicate, Potassium Bicarbonate, Potassium 107 Persulfate, Potassium Hydroxide, Potassium Schoenite, Potassium Humate,Carnallite, Picromerite, Glauconite, Biotite, and Langbeinite.
4. The crop nutrition composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the surfactantcomprises one or more of anionic and non-ionic surfactants.
5. The crop nutrition composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the surfactantcomprises one or more of emulsifiers, wetting agents and dispersing agents.
6. The crop nutrition composition as claimed in claim 5, wherein the dispersingagent is a non-ionic dispersant selected from one or more of polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyvinyl alcohol, polyoxyethylene alkyl ethers, polyoxyethylenealkyl phenyl ether, ethoxylated fatty acids, aliphatic alcohol ethoxylates, alkylethoxylates; EO-PO block copolymers, graft copolymers, addition products ofethylene oxide and fatty acid esters, Kraft lignin polymer, polyoxyethylenealkyl esters, polyoxyethylenesorbitan alkyl esters, ethoxylated alkyl phenols,polyoxyethylenestyryl phenyl ether.
7. The crop nutrition composition as claimed in claim 5, wherein the dispersingagent is anionic dispersant selected from one or more of sulfated fatty alcoholglyscol ethers, tristyrylphenolethoxylate phosphate esters; lignin sulphonates,phenyl naphthalene sulphonates, alkali metal, alkaline earth metal andammonium salts of lignosulfonic acid, lignin derivatives, alkylarylsulfonates,alkylsulfonates, mixture of sodium salt of naphthalene sulphonic acid ureaformaldehyde condensate and sodium salt of phenol sulphonic formaldehydecondensate, polycarboxylates, sodium alkyl benzene sulfonates, sodium salts ofsulfonated naphthalene, sodium naphthalene sulfonate formaldehydecondensates, condensation products of aryl sulphonic acids and formaldehyde,polyaromatic sulfonates, sodium alkyl aryl sulfonate. 108
8. The crop nutrition composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the compositionfurther comprises one or more of agrochemically acceptable excipient selectedfrom one or more of fillers or carriers or diluents, spreading agents, colorants,anticaking agents, disintegrating agents, binders, buffers or pH adjusters orneutralizing agents, pigments, stabilizers, antifoaming agents or defoamers,penetrants, ultraviolet absorbents, structuring agents, humectants, stickingagents, anti-freezing agent or freeze point depressants, chelating or complexingor sequestering agents preservatives or bactericides or anti-fungal agents orbiocides or anti-microbial agents or antioxidants.
9. The crop nutrition composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein aqueoussuspension composition further comprises structuring agent selected from oneor more of thickeners, suspending agents or suspension aid agents, viscositymodifiers or rheology modifiers, tackifiers and anti-settling agents.
10. The crop nutrition composition as claimed in claim 9, wherein the structuringagent is present in the range of 0.01 to 20% w/w of the total composition.
11. The crop nutrition composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the waterdispersible granular composition has a dispersibility of at least 30%.
12. The crop nutrition composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the compositionhas a suspensibility of at least 30%.
13. The crop nutrition composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the aqueoussuspension composition has a viscosity of 150 cps to 2000 cps at 25° C. 109
14. The crop nutrition composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the compositionfurther comprises elemental Molybdenum, or its salts, or derivatives or mixturesthereof; and wherein the composition has elemental Molybdenum content in therange of 0.001 to 10% by weight of the total composition.
15. A process for preparation of the crop nutrition composition in the form of waterdispersible granules as claimed in claim 1, wherein the process comprises:A. milling:i. one or more of water insoluble Magnesium salts or derivativesthereof,ii. one or more of water soluble Potassium salts or derivatives thereof,iii. one or more of surfactants, in water to obtain a slurry or wet mix,B. drying the slurry or wet mix to obtain the granules;wherein the composition has elemental Magnesium content in the range of 1%to 50% by weight of the total composition, andwherein the composition has elemental Potassium content in the range of 1% to50% by weight of the total composition, andwherein the surfactant is in the range of 0.1 to 40% by weight of the totalcomposition, andwherein the composition comprises particles in the size range of 0.1 micron-30microns.
16. A process for preparation of the crop nutrition composition in the form ofaqueous suspension as claimed in claim 1, wherein the process comprises:milling:i. one or more of water insoluble Magnesium salts or derivativesthereof,ii. one or more of water soluble Potassium salts or derivatives thereof,iii. one or more of surfactants,in water to obtain a homogeneous suspension with a particle size range of 0.1micron to 30 microns, 110 wherein the composition has elemental Magnesium content in the range of 1%to 50% by weight of the total composition andwherein the composition has elemental Potassium content in the range of 1%to 50% by weight of the total composition, andwherein the surfactant is in the range of 0.1 to 40% by weight of the totalcomposition.
17. A crop nutrition composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the compositionis at least one of a fertilizer composition, a nutrient composition, a cropstrengthener composition, a soil conditioner composition and a yield enhancercomposition.
18. A method for improving plant health or yield, wherein the method comprisestreating at least one of a plant, a plant propagation material, locus or plant partsthereof, a seed, seedling or surrounding soil with the crop nutritioncomposition as claimed in claim 1.
19. A method for treating plants and meeting their nutritional requirement byenhancing uptake of Magnesium and Potassium by application of cropnutrition composition comprising:i. one or more of water insoluble Magnesium salts or derivatives thereof,ii. one or more of water soluble Potassium salts or derivatives thereof,iii. one or more of surfactants,wherein the composition is in the form of water dispersible granules or aqueoussuspension; andwherein the composition has elemental Magnesium content in the range of 1%to 50% by weight of the total composition, andwherein the composition has elemental Potassium content in the range of 1% to50% by weight of the total composition, andwherein the surfactant is in the range of 0.1 to 40% by weight of the totalcomposition, and 111 wherein the composition comprises particles in the size range of 0.1 micron-30microns. Dr. Revital Green Patent Attorney G.E. Ehrlich (1995) Ltd. 35 HaMasger Street Sky Tower, 13th Floor Tel Aviv 6721407
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