Pesticide formulation

The biological activity of a pesticide, be it chemical or biological in nature, is determined by its active ingredient (AI - also called the active substance). Pesticide products very rarely consist of the pure active ingredient. The AI is usually formulated with other materials (adjuvents and co-formulants) and this is the product as sold, but it may be further diluted in use. Formulations improve the properties of a chemical for handling, storage, application and may substantially influence effectiveness and safety.

Formulation types are categorised into two-letter international formulation codes: (e.g. GR: granules), which must be used when registering a new pesticide product. Croplife maintains this list, which in the 7th update (2017) contains 65 formulation codes and 29 codes which are no longer used.

Household formulations are often "low-concentrate solutions", with pesticides pre-diluted, often to 1% active ingredient or less, and at much steeper prices compared to more concentrated commercial formulations.

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