International Journal of Environmental Sciences

Pesticide and the adjuvant can be taken up both by the plant and this can be determined using confocal laser scanning microscopy which can provide more evidence of the presence of pesticides in the plants. Oregon Green which has similar properties with some pesticides serves as the substitute since only fluorescent compounds can be visualized under the scanning microscope. Adjuvants bond, ethomeen T/25, silwet L-77, and softanol 70 were used in this study. The images obtained were observed and compared using Image J image analysis software. Images obtained from the confocal laser scanning microscope showed that silwet L-77 in combination with Oregon green was significantly different from the control indicating that penetration rate using silwet L-77 is faster allowing lower peaks during observation since most of the fluorescent dyes may have already diffused into the lower part of the leaf. Adjuvants bond, ethomeen T/25, and softanol 70 were not significantly different from the control suggesting that combination of adjuvants and pesticides will most likely cause an increase in uptake of pesticide into the leaf if the pesticide used is water soluble mixed with a hydrophilic adjuvant.