Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
2019~ ~
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INHIBITION ~Y ~Q~AT~ S~OU~IN~
This invent$on relates to thq~control and inhibition
of sprouting o~ potatoes and more particularly to the
chemical inhibltion of ~uch ~pr~uting by th~ applio~tion of
carbRtamide.
CarbQtamide i~ the compound o~ the fo~ula:
~H5~-~oO-C~tC~-CO-N~-~2H5
It is otherwlse known a~ D-N-ethyl-laa~amide
phenylc3rba~ate or N-phenyl~ ethylc~rbamoyl)ethylcarbamate
~D-isomer).
Potatoes ~Sol~um ~u~rosu~), can ~ subjected to
extend~d peri~d~ o~ ~torage between hArvesting and
consumption. ~uring such perlod6 the harvested crop tendq to
sprout. Such sprou~ing results in a degr~e o~ ~poilage~
which it is ~esirable to avoid. A number of chemic~l a~en~s
a~ known ~hi~h will inhibit ~uch sprout$ng (e,g.
c~lorpropha~, propham, tecnazene) but all ~u~fer ~rom various
di~Adv~ntages~ We have now ~ound that carb~t~mi~e is an
e~fec~ sprouting ~nhibitor twhich in tu~n redu~e~ moi~ture
0 108s and main~Ains turgidity), which posse~es several
advantages over the cur~ently ~sed ~a~ria~. In addition to
tbe inhibition of ~prouting during storage it h~s als~ been
disco~sred ~hat c~rb~tamide can be ~sed ~o delay sprou~ing o~
seed pota~oe~ befor~ plan~ing, release ~ccurring when
--~ STE ~PPELE ~ 7-"7?'7SG$ ~ r `~ + ~--_~" c, ~ T Fl`l PEI~ G
2 0 ~ 8
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planting h~ taken place.
The inhibition of sproutin~ re~er~ to a r~duction in
th~ numb~r o~ ~pro~ts per ~ubsr and~or ~ redu~tion in the
mean ~prout length.
The pre e~t lnventio~ ~ccor~ingly provides a meth~d
for lnhibitiny ~he sprouting of potatoe~, ~hich ~mpri~es
applying thereto an amount o~ ~ar~et~mide ~u~ ient ~o
inhibit ~he sprouting thereof~ Th~ carbe~amide may be
applied, ~or example, prior to or during stor~y~ to inhlbit
lo t.he sprouting of stored potatoes. Carbetamide 1~ pre~erably
applied at or after the no~mal curing peri~d ~fter li~ting
the crop prior ~o stor~g~. The tuber~ ~hould pr,3~e~ahly not
~e washed prior to treatment (although wa~hing in water ~t
carefully controlled temper~tures i6 feagible).
Car~e~amide i~ a known selective herbicide which has
be~n wldely used in the cultivation o~ ~ra~e, domestic, and
eed bras~i~ae and legumes and a wide varlRty of o~her ~ops.
It 1~ also u~ed ~or weed ~ontrol in fallow lands, orchards,
vineyards and nurserie~
Ca~betamlde also ~how~ plan~ ~rowth regulatory
activlty and c~n ~e used as an ef~ective ~ucker inhibito~ in
tobacco pl~nt~ wher~ it ~locks or inhi~it~ the ~ro~th of
axillary bu~s ~y modifyinq ~eristematl'c a~ivity~ Rowe~r
~he pre~ent mod~ of action is dif~erent as all pro~ting ls
inhibit~d in an already harvested cr~p, wheraa~ ~ n tobaac~
the ~ain a~ion i~ the seiective inhibi~lon of tha growth of
particular (i.e. non-terminal~ bud~ in the still-growing
~ .--, ~ T r w O r r ~ ~ o '~ L ~ '1' '1 `L ' ~: `L `~' 1:-- _ O ' ~ 1 ' T C 1`1 D r r 1 1
2~5~8
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plant.
The ~ethod of the pre~Qnt inven~ion for treatment o~
po~toe~ ~an employ any of the Xnown ~ompositiQn~ of
carbetamide. Suitahle compo3ition~ for u~e in ~h~ ~e~hod o~
th~ invention compri~e carbetamide in ~s~ociation with ~
diluent or c~rrier. Th~se compo~i~ions can ~e preparcd in
~he form of e.~. ~et~able pvwder~, powdex~ for dusting,
solutians, emul~i~iable concentrate~ ulsion~, ~uspens~on
aoncen~rates and aexosols and generally comprise from l to
95% by weight of active mat~rial; o~her ingredients which may
be present include sur~ctants and o~her acoeptable adjuvants
such as absorbent~, binders, p~netration agent~, ~tabilisers
and other activa materials, for exampl~ ~un~icide~ and
insecticides. The term "carrie~" denotes an or~ania ox
l~ inorg~nic, natural or ~yntheti~ material with Wh~h the
c~rbetamid~ i~ combined in order to ~ilitate it~
application, tran~port, handling or adher~nce to the potato.
The carrier can be solid (e.g. a clay or a natuxal or
synt~atic ~il$cata~ or fluid (e.~. water ~r organi~ ~ol~ents
~ncludlng ketone~ ~uch a~ aceto~, acetophenone, and ~y~lic
katones ~uch a3 cyclohexanone; dimethylformamide: lower
alkanol~, ~uch as ~ethanol or ~natur~d ethanal; ch~orinated
hydro~arbonx, ~uch a~ ~ethylene ~lorid~; aromatic ~ol~ent3,
such as toluene and xylene; and petroleum fxac~ion~).
Pxeferrad solid carriers are water ~oluble ~nd of ~ood g~ade,
e.g. polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) an~ ~ug~r-~a~ad pr~duct~.
The suxfact~nt can be a~ ~mulsifying, disper~ing or
T F ,C~ r ~ F I F --. .~ '7--~ ~ 2 '--, `" ~ `~ c 'i- r ~ _ o " ~ F i~l p r r
2 0 ~ g
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wetting agcnt and can be ionic or non-ionlc. Suitabla
emulsifiers include the co~monly u~ed ca~ionic, anionic, non-
ionic or zwi~terioni~ ~aterial~ ~uch as, for ~xampl~, the
~alt~ of poly~crylic acids, ligno-~lphonic acids, and
condsnsate~ oE e~hylene oxide w:ith ~atty alcohol~, ~cid~ and
amine~.
other ad~u~ant~ whioh may be in~lud~d in ~he
co~po~ition for ~imultan ous appliaa~ion are fungicides and
insecticides. EXamples of fungicides whiCh may ~e applied
lo with c~rbatamide are imazalil and iprod~on~.
It i~ preferred to apply c~betamide as a disper~ion
in or on liquid ~r solld ~edia typically a~ concen~a~ions Q~
0.01 to ~0~, e.g. ~.~ to 50%, by wel~ht.
~ arbeta~ide is ~oluhle in water to the extent of
about 3.5g/litre. In liquid media the ~arbetamide is
there~ore preferably applied in the form o~ an emulsified
di~per~ion in water via the emulsification of a aon~entrated
solution in a ~uitable ~olvent. Carbetamide can al~o be
applied as ~n aguoou ~u6pension ~ormed from a wettable
20 powder~ The solvents, aative ~g~nt and ~urfactant~ are
prepa~ed in the for~ of ~mul~ifiabl~ concentrat~ whi~h are
then dilute~ with water, b~fore application, to ~he
appropriate conc~ntration. Liquid conc~ntrat~ compo~ition~ ~
are preferred for the prepara~ion of disper~on~ ~or ~pray
~5 application~ ~owever, suoh aoncehtrateQ ~ay ba modified for
dispRr~ion application via aerosols, mi~ts, or fog~. Su~h
modification te~hnigues a~e well known.
~. T r ~ C ~ ~ ~ ? .~ G ~ t `~ p -f r ~ r ~1 1 ~ ~
2~ 95~ ~
The l~q~id formulations o~ o~rbeta~i~e may ~e applied
by hand method~ such as hand spraying, ~prinkling ~ans,
dipping ete~ but in lArge scale ~p~ration~ conventional
pparatu~ (e.g. roller tabl~ mount~d equipment) may be u~ed.
Liquids may ~180 be di~tributed by ~oggers.
C~rbetamide i9 pre~e~ably applied ~y spraylng o~ an
aqueous di~per~ion or ~uspension of a we~table powde~ This
is conv-anisntly oarried out u3ing roller table mounted
equipment for the potatoes: it i6 import~nt to ensu~e
complete cover~ge in particular o~ the eyes of the tu~er.
Carb~tamide may also ~e ~pplied ln ~olid for~, i.e.
via wettable powders, dusts or granul~3. The~e ~re applied
by dus~ing or di~persing the solids, in requisit~ amounts,
onto the stored crop to be treated, ~or ~xample ~y powder
granule qi~p~rsers. Wettable powders or ~ranules a~
preferred ~or Applioation of solid agent3.
The a~ncentra~ed composl~ion~, liquldt soli~ or ~emi-
solid, are diluted before applic~tion to ensure uniform
distribu~i~n. The degree o$ dilution required depends upon
~he mo~a of applicatlon. When Garbet~mid~ is spr~yed in
liquid fonm via an aqu~ous dispersion or ~uspen~ion, ~he
~oncentration laYel ~f actiYe ingredlent m~y rang~ ~rom OoOl
to 8~%, e.g. 4.5 to 50~, by weigh~.
W~ttable powdars co~pri~in~ a~out ~5~ by weight of
o~rbetami~e are pre~erred, a~ ~r~ 801ution~ o~ ca~b~tamid~
compri~ing 100 to 300g~1 o~ carbet~ide.
Solid ~ompositisn~ ~re u~ed to gi~R about the sa~e
.-. ~--T r ~ r l r ~ ~ G ~ ` r T F l` l p r r ~
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_ fi _
concsntration of ~cti~e lngr~dient A~ ~re the l~quid
compositions.
~ B ~ta~d a~ove, ~rb~ta~ e i~ compatibl~ with other
active ~ubstance~, such as f~ngicide~ an~ lns~ctiGlde~, and
it can thR~Rf ore be applied to t:h~ stored ~r~p~ in
c~mbinativn ~he~with. SU~h appliqa~lon may be ~eparate,
sequen~ial or s~mul~aneou~.
- The amount of carbetamide applled is generally from
17 to 200 g.a.i.(actl~Q ingredient)/~onne o~ potatoe~.
10In the t~mporary inhi~ition of sprouting ln seed
potatoes after plantlng from 1~ to 50 g.a.i.f~onne i~
preferably used. It is believed tha~ the carbetamide is
sub~eot to degradation in the soil: the g~ater the amount o~
~arbetamid~ ~sed the longer the delay in ~prouting.
15~ In the inhibl~lon o~ ~prouting in 6tored potato~
from 17 to 200 g.a.i.~tonne i8 preer~bly used, mo~t
preferably from 30 to 70 g.a.i,Jtonne.
In g~n~al the lower the temp~rature thQ lowe~ the
a~ount of carbet~mide reguired to inhibit ~prou~ing. The
amount of carbe~a~ide requlred may al~o ~ary dep~h~ing on ~he
varlety of potato, ~om~ variqtiRs being ~or~ prone to
~prout~ng than ot~er~.
By w~y of example, the follo~ing compoeitions ~y ~e
u~ed ~n the ~ethod according to the pre~ent inven~ion.
T ~ ~; C' ~ C I r, . ~ U 'L _ .L 'I' _ ~ L ~: ~': `1 ` ' 1----_ ~ ~ ~-- D T r ~ I o ~ r I I ~ ~
2 B,1 ~ 8
Wett~bl~ Powders (percen~g~ by wei~ht)
carbetamide 70 SO
nonyl~henol ox~ethyl-17 (we~ting agent) 2
polyc~rbox~late ~di~p~rsin~ agent) Z
~ilica (car~ier~ 2~ 25
calc~um car~on~te (~arrler) ~ ~1
Emulslfiabl~ concentrate
carbe~amide 300 q
acetophenon~ (~arrier) ~80 g
nonylphenol oxyethyl-7 ~wettin~ ~en~) 200 ~
~yclohexanane ~carrier) qs 1000 cc
~ arbetamide h~s an ~cute L~5~ in rats o~ 11,000
mg/k~ animal body weight and is practically devoid of
chroni~ toxicity. Toplcal ~pplicat1ons in the ra~bit
eye ~5 m~) and to rabbit ~kin 1~ c~ea~) also lndicate
absence o~ i~rltant ef~ects.
Thus, ~a~etamlde ~s les~ tox~c or ~r~itan~ to
mammalian species than the previ~us~y used sprouting
inhibitors and is safer for use ~y uns~illed workers~
Furthermore, in the a~sence of s~nificant ~oxi~ity,
resldues on the tubers provide a significantly lower
--l~ ~ T r G ~ ~l r ~ ~ ~. Q ~~ ' ' 'L '~ ' ~ . 'L '~ ' ~': ':~' 'J~' r--_ ~ ~ ~ ~ T r ~ l r r r ~
'l g
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health and envlronm~ntal ha~ard to p~OCe~r5 and ul~imate
~onsumers.
C~rbeta~ide also produc~s les~ ~aint i.n t~e treated
tubers, renderlng the~ more aooeptable ~or ~onsumpt~on.
Fur~hel~ore, carbetamide .i~ much 1G~S volatile than
the ~prou~ing in~bitors at pre~ent in u~e~ This there~ore
allows select.~ y of treatment and prevents cro~-
contam~n~ion as the area o~ eff~ct o~ a tr~atment will not
~pread. There i~ there~ore no nacd to ~sgregate treated
tubers ~rom unt~eated tu~ers or other ~t~r~d cxop~, or to u~e
complex isolation procRdures du~in~ tr~atmen~, a~ is required
with pr~sently u6ed inhibitors. ~he Ver~ low volatlllty al~o
avoid~ ~ny vapour expo~ure r1~k to operatiVes in potato
~tor~s .
Tre~tment ~cording to the invention also ~sults in
no greater weight losses than in convQntional treatments.
The ~ollowin~ Example illus~r~tes the use o~
carbetamlde accordin~ to the present invention.
XAMPLE
2~ ~our var~etie~ of potato were treated with varying
~mount~ of ~ w~ttable powder cont~ining 65~ wJW o~
oarbetamide. Th~ level of -~prouting i~hlbition was
determined by compari~on with un~reatad pot~toe a~ter
storage ~or thr~e month~, The results were as follows:
Pc)tato ¦ Applic~tlqn rate ~f Inhibition ~ % ) at
variety compc~sition ~ g/torlne )
3 months S months
. ~ .. _
Squire 50 ~ ~9
lOP 9
~ 50 ~g 9g
300 9~ ~
~ _ ~
Ro~nano5 Q * 7 5
100 * 93
150 ~ ~6
300 * g7
r)esi~ee50 71 98
100 - 97 ~8
150 ~ g9
30P 100 99
. . __ _ .. .:
Cara ~0 88 ~7
100 9B 98
15~- 10~ 9
- 300 ' 100
~ate sprouting va~1ety
. ~ - .--T ~ ., D C' C ' ~ '
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In comp~ratlve experiments a ~imilar ~est was
~arrled ou~ ex~ept that trea~ment was with ~YG~AN S ~a
com~erclal composition based on te~nazenel at a rate of
1300g/tonne. The re~lts were as ~oll~ws:
Potato Inhibition ~%) at
. .
variety 3 months 5 m~nths
~_ . ~
Squire 7~ 92
Rom~no ~ 75
Desiree ~ 83
cara 85 82
Weight l~sses of the pot~toes su~ected to the
various trea~ments were als~ measured and ~cmpare~ with
those re~ulting rom convention~l ~reatment and ~or t}~
untre~te~ controls. A~era~e ~lues for ~ll vari~ti~s
of potatoes tested are as follows:
0 1 ~
Treatment Weight 106E; ~ % ) a~
_ _ . . ~ , __.
3 months 5 months
~ _ . .. . .
None ( ~Qntxol ) l . 8 3 . 3
Carbetamlde 50g/~onne 1~ 4 2 . ~
lOOg/tQnne ~. 5 2 . 8
150~/tonne 1. 3 2 . 2
~ 300gJtonne l . 5 2 . 3
By~an $ 1300~/tonne ~ 3 . 5