Organophosphorus pesticides do not function as foliar fertilizers

Some people have analyzed that the active ingredients of organophosphorus pesticides contain phosphorus, which is an essential nutrient for plants. Therefore, propagandizing the use of organic phosphorus has certain effects on the growth of plants. On the other hand, it was indeed observed that some crops became dark green after spraying organophosphorus pesticides, and some people used organophosphorus pesticides as foliar topdressing phosphate fertilizers. In fact, this is a wrong view.

First, we say that the function or trait of any object is determined by its internal structure. For example, charcoal, graphite and quartz are all composed of carbon, but the crystallization method is not the same and the hardness is very different. Organophosphorus pesticides and phosphorus do contain phosphorus, but the way phosphorus is combined with other elements (chemical structure) is not the same. Phosphate is a kind of phosphate, it is easily dissolved in water and shows the state of phosphate (PO4-3) in water. It can be quickly absorbed and utilized by plants. Phosphorus in organic phosphorus is mostly bound to large organic molecules. Some phosphates or phosphorothioates, generally insoluble in water, and less likely to ionize phosphate. Although some agents can penetrate plants and even be absorbed by plants, they cannot directly participate in normal metabolic processes.

Second, we say that organophosphorus pesticides may eventually become phosphates that can be used by plants in nature or in plants, but they generally take a long time and appropriate environmental conditions. We know that any pesticide has a "validity period" and "safety interval." The former refers to the number of days that an agent can effectively kill pests, and can often last from days to a week. The latter is the time from the last application to the harvest or the time the drug loses its toxicity, often tens of days, and the agent can be degraded to Plants take much longer than these.

On the other hand, we should also pay attention to the use of organic phosphorus pesticides in small amounts, the content of phosphorus in the active ingredient is also very small, the phosphorus that can be brought into the farmland by spraying organic phosphorus is also quite limited. Taking dichlorvos as an example, the amount of phosphorus carried by one spray is about one-twentieth of potassium dihydrogen phosphate.

In short, don't count on relying on the use of organophosphorus pesticides to supplement the phosphorus needed for crops, let alone expect it to act as a foliar dressing.