| abstract |
Methods and compositions are disclosed wherein exogenous chemicals are applied to plants to generate a desired biological response. One embodiment of the present invention is a plant treatment composition that comprises an exogenous chemical and a first excipient substance. The first excipient substance is an amphiphilic quaternary ammonium compound or mixture of such compounds, having the formula R8-Wa-X-Yb-(CH2)n-N+(R9)(R10)(R11) T-wherein R8 represents the hydrophobic moiety and is a hydrocarbyl or haloalkyl group having from about 6 to about 22 carbon atoms, W and Y are independently O or NH, a and b are independently 0 or 1 but at least one of a and b is 1, X is CO, SO or SO2, n is 2 to 4, R9, R10 and R11 are independently C1-4 alkyl, and T is a suitable anion. |