SK33997A3 - Use of needleless pneumatically actuated injection apparatus for administering active substances to plants - Google Patents

Abstract

Needleless pneumatically actuated injection apparatus can be used to inject active substances into plants.

Description

Method of use of needles-free injectors actuated by pressure means for the transfer of active substances to the organism of plants

Technical field

The present invention relates to the use of needle-free injectors actuated by a pressurized means for the transfer of active substances to the plant organism.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Injection as a means of transferring the active ingredients to the plant organism has been known for a long time. It is preferable to conventional spraying and spraying techniques, since it avoids the problem of loss and environmental pollution.

Various injection devices have been developed in the course of optimizing the method of injecting plants, especially those with woody stems. Of the devices that are quite widespread, it deserves to mention the so-called. the Mauget system described in U.S. Pat. 3,304,655 and 4,365,440. Although the devices described in these patents differ in their construction details, they are both based on the same principle. This is an injector that cannot be refilled, i. it is intended for single use (single-use injector) and consists of a container filled with the liquid to be injected and a lance to be applied to the plant stem. The cartridge is comprised of two containers that are telescopically inserted into each other by means of a groove system comprising a tongue. Compressing both components exerts pressure in the gas phase located above the liquid. The substance to be injected is then pushed through the supply hose into the plant stem. However, the use of these injection devices has also shown their imperfection.

The injection of liquids with these systems is always associated with the risk of leakage of the active substance (leakage of liquid from the mouth of the orifice in the trunk) and, moreover, requires considerable time and its implementation is ralatively expensive.

A useful alternative is the high pressure injector developed in the 1970s in the USA. As an example of a patent relating to this injector, U.S. Pat. The main advantage of this device is the minimization of the risk of liquid leakage, which is achieved by incorporating the pump, as well as the so-called pump leakage. self-closing needles. Indeed, when using this injection device, due to the application of high pressure (35 MPa), the lignin fibers are rapidly contracted in the tissue cells in the vicinity of the needle, thereby rapidly closing the previously formed cavity. This prevents possible leakage of the active substance. This injection system is suitable for multiple use of liquids with different viscosities. However, it has the disadvantage that its use generally requires pre-drilling of the space into which the active substance is to enter in the plant stem. Moreover, it is logical that the measure of the efficiency of the closure of the orifice space is dependent on the lignin content in the cell wall and thus on the type of plant. This means that there is a potential risk of leakage when injecting with this device.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,078,087 is proposed as a further injection technique using an injection system to ensure uniform delivery of the injected solution to the plant stem. The essential point is that the injection of the liquid is not carried out by means of a single cannula, but by means of a manifold. This manifold into which the pressurized medium is fed from the reservoir consists of a connector and a different number of so-called. connecting pieces which are inserted into the pre-drilled holes in the trunk and from the stopcock. The use of connecting T-pieces, which are fluid flow switches, through which one portion of the liquid is injected into the trunk and the other, the excess portion, is guided further, ensuring that the vascular system of the plant is equally and from all sides supplied with liquid.

As with the devices described so far, there is a problem of unwanted leakage of the injected medium with this system.

An example of another system used for injection known in the art is that described in U.S. Pat. The device used for injection described in this patent is based on the proven principle of a syringe used in medicine. What is new is the use of an auxiliary device, which is a tube which is inserted into a tree trunk before being injected to a suitable depth. The use of this additional lance, in which the syringe needle is positioned during application, allows the needle to be filled with the medium to be injected prior to deployment of the plunger syringe. The purpose of this modification of the normal sequence of operations during application is that a liquid that is free of air bubbles can be injected quickly and efficiently. The disadvantage of this process, however, is the relatively high consumption of time and labor involved in the use of said auxiliary agent.

Among the other injection techniques described in the prior art, the procedure described in CA-PS 1 089 645 using an injection device is also to be mentioned. It is an object of the present invention to provide a pressure injector for use in plants, which is used specifically for painting diseases caused by fungi in trees (for example, the elimination of brushwood). This device has been developed primarily to achieve injection without losing the injected substance. Minimization of fluid leakage was achieved by using a inlet tube (inlet needle) on the surface of which the kinks and / or bends occur. toothed shapes. This irregular surface structure creates a closer contact with the plant's secondary tissues, and therefore the feed medium cannot escape at all, or only in a minimal amount.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,164,093 discloses an injection device which is a pressure miniinjector for use on small diameter plant parts such as seedlings, tree branches, and young plants. This device includes a syringe (similar to a disposable syringe used in medicine) and tongs similar to commonly used multipurpose pliers. The syringe is mounted on one jaw of these tongs. Adjustable opening of the jaws allows arbitrary placement of this mini-injector on the stem of the plant and easy operation of the device depending on which plant it is used for.

None of the prior art injection devices have completely solved the problem of leakage of the injected medium. In addition, most of the systems used here for injection are quite demanding in terms of equipment and time. Furthermore, these devices are only suitable for injecting liquid media.

Since none of the documents mentioned so far mention the use of injection devices in plants which do not contain woody parts, it can be considered that such devices are not suitable for such use.

The essence of the invention

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an injection method that permits injection of both solids and liquids, while eliminating the above disadvantage of leakage when injecting liquids, and applicable to both woody plants and woody plants.

Surprisingly, it has been found that the use of needle-free injectors actuated by pressure means according to the features of independent claim 1 and dependent claims 2 to 5 fully satisfies the above conditions.

The following provides a detailed description of the invention.

Needle-free injectors are used in medicine and veterinary medicine. Their use has long been used where it is necessary to use painless injection. They can be purchased under different names (for example, the Bienchen vaccine produced in the former Soviet Union, the US-developed Jet and Hungarian Viper vaccine) and are described in detail in various patents and patent applications (for example DE 34 67 301, EP 0 119 286, U.S. Pat. No. 4,966,581, DE 31 15 373). However, these injectors have not yet been used for plants.

Surprisingly, it has been found that needle-free injectors are in principle of the same construction as the injectors described in the aforementioned documents, and are perfectly suited for injecting various substances into plants.

Injection devices of this type are devices in which the substance to be injected exits through the nozzle from the injector chamber under the action of such a high energy that it is possible to inject without needles. The resulting short-term pressure surge creates an opening in the object into which the substance is injected (in the plant's appropriate organ) to enter the substance at the desired depth. The depth to which the substance is injected can be controlled by the distance of the device from the object and its angle. The closer the nozzle is to this object, the deeper the injection cone.

The pressure required to expel the injected medium can be applied in different ways with different injectors. As pressure means, for example, gas coming out of a carbon dioxide cartridge (DE 34 67 301) or a pressure pump (DE 31 15 373) can be used.

A particular advantage of the present invention is that the use of this type of needle-free injectors completely eliminates the risk of leakage of the active ingredient. This is especially true when injected into plants that do not contain woody parts, which close the inlet opening very quickly due to the osmotic pressure of adjacent cells.

Further advantages of the present invention are that the injected medium may be in a liquid, semi-solid, and solid form. Indeed, in the method of the present invention it is possible to inject even very viscous liquids using a reasonably high pressure. This is because tubes and needles are not used. This avoids the problem of needle blockage, which occurs in media with limited fluidity due to, for example, clogging.

The non-needle injection method also provides the possibility of injecting crystalline substances. The prerequisite is that the individual particles are sufficiently small (to be microparticles). A particle size of up to 1 µm is preferred.

The active substances which can be dosed into plants by needle-free injectors are primarily systemic substances used for plant protection (insecticides, acaricides, fungicides, bactericides) as well as substances which promote and regulate the growth of plants.

Systemically acting insecticides are, for example, butocaroboxime, dimethoate, phenoxycarb, metamyl, oxamyl, oxydemtetone-methyl, pirimicarb or propoxur.

Systemic acaricides are, for example, clofentizine, fenbutation-oxide and hexytiazox.

Systemic fungicides are, for example, benomyl, bromuconazole, bitertanol, etaconazole, flusilazole, furalaxyl, fozetyl-Al, imazalil, metalaxyl, penconazole, propiconazole, thiabendazole, triadimefon, triadimenol or triforine.

Systemic bactericides include, for example. flumekín.

As plant growth promoting agents, they may be. for example, plant extracts of sting, tansy, gilt or vertebrate, which may have local or systemic effects depending on the site to which they are injected.

Systemic growth regulators are, for example, etepone and β-indolylacetic acid (IES).

Advantageous use of needle-free injection is the dosing of growth-inhibiting substances, which may be an alternative to manual pruning on trees and bushes in public parks. Injection systems (especially in the US) have been increasingly important in this area in recent years.

Other substances which can be applied by needle-free injectors are those used to protect and impregnate wood.

Wood used in construction has been protected for centuries against aging and weathering by impregnation or coating.

• Mixtures of oils and waxes or other chemical substances (for example against wood-destroying insects) are used.

• However, these procedures have the disadvantage that they must be renewed over time.

The use of needle-free injection offers a suitable alternative for impregnation carried out in a conventional manner.

Because of the relatively high viscosity of the liquids, it is also possible to inject liquids containing polymers into the piece of wood to be treated.

This is significant because the formulation which allows the controlled release of the active ingredient can be injected. Since in this case it is possible to determine the release time profile (time and rate of release), needle-free injection offers the possibility of long-term protection of the wood. objects.

This implies that needle-free injection can be advantageously used for the treatment of wooden objects which need long-term and permanent protection, for example of wooden parts of structures used as a support for plants in their cultivation.

Another advantage of using needle-free injectors is the time savings. These devices allow for rapid work, are of robust construction and can be used for a relatively long time. In addition, since they can be sterilized in autoclaves, they can also be used in cases where the transmission of active substances is to exclude the transmission of viruses and / or virus. where there is a risk of viral infection, as is the case, for example, in the cultivation of non-virus-infected varieties.

The invention is illustrated by the following examples:

EXAMPLES Example 1

2.5 pbw of polyacrylic acid powder (Carbopol EDT 2050) was dispersed in 97 pbw of water. 0.5 parts by weight of the active compound Al-Fosetyl were added to the suspension thus obtained. To the resulting mass was added the active ingredient uniformly dispersed while stirring constantly. An acrylic acid dispersion containing an active substance of relative viscosity at 25 ° C equal to 0.86 Pa.s (measured with a Brookfield viscometer using a low-viscosity fluid measuring device) was then filled into a needle-free injector actuated by a pressurized device (DermoJet type) , and at a pressure of 0.81 MPa injected into the cell tissue of the lower part of the raspberry shoot (Rubus idaeus).

Example 2

0.9 g of salicylic acid (plant resistance enhancer) was dissolved in 500 ml of water at 30 ° C. 100 ml of the solution thus obtained was filled into a needle-free injector actuated by a pressurized device (Dermo-Jet type), and this solution was injected into the cell tissue of the lower part of the tobacco shoot (Nicotiana tabakum).

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Claims (5)

CLAIMS 1. A method of using needle-free injectors actuated by pressure means for injecting active substances into plants. » Method of use according to claim 1, for the injection of solid, semi-solid or liquid media containing active substances. The method of use according to claim 1, for injecting media selected from the group consisting of systemically acting plant protection agents, plant growth promoting agents, plant growth regulating agents, fertilizers and wood preservatives. The method of use according to claim 1, for injecting a medium with a composition suitable for the controlled release of the active ingredient. The method of use according to claim 1, for injecting medium in the form of particles with a diameter of 0.1 to 5.0 µm, preferably of a diameter of 0.2 to 1.0 µm. Translator's notes p. 7, last paragraph below: the relative viscosity is a dimensionless quantity, the relative viscosity reading in Pa.s is now erroneous.