Ontario Pesticide Training And Certification CORE Practice Exam

Pesticide formulations are designed by combining the active ingredient(s) with formulants to create a product that can be stored, handled, and applied effectively. The active ingredient is what controls the pest, but it often needs a delivery system to perform well in real-world use. Formulants include carriers, solvents, surfactants, dispersants, emulsifiers, adjuvants, and stabilizers. They help with things like proper dispersion, adhesion to plant surfaces, sprayability, and stability during storage, ensuring the active ingredient reaches the target pest in the right concentration. This applies to all types of formulations, whether liquid or solid, such as emulsifiable concentrates, wettable powders, granules, or dusts. Formulants are not something separate you add later; they are part of the final product to enable correct delivery and performance. So the statement is true: a pesticide formulation is a mixture of one or more active ingredients and formulants.