Maltodextrin is a polysaccharide usually used as a food additive or supplement. In the 1970s, however, its insecticide and acaricide action was discovered in the United Kingdom. This was then developed over time, up to the creation of an effective liquid formulation, and therefore to an active ingredient permitted, starting from 2013, by the European legislation on organic farming.
In this article we see how maltodextrin acts against garden parasites and how to use it correctly.
What are maltodextrins
Maltodextrin is composed of units of D-Glucose (dextrose) linked together in chains of variable number from 3 to 17. Maltodextrin is obtained through a partial hydrolysis process of vegetable starch in the form of dry white powder. The starting vegetable starches are mainly those of cereals and tubers.
Thanks to the excellent pharmacological profile, maltodextrins have multiple uses in the human field (and are found commercially available in various forms). First of all, they are easy to find as a food additive, but also as a preservative to increase the shelf life of a product. Furthermore, in medicine and for pharmaceutical purposes, they are used as emulsifying or flavoring agents. Finally, in sports, they are used as supplements, being excellent as a replacement for glucose.
Maltodextrin in agriculture
In fact, maltodextrin is a product of natural origin, so the residues on crops after treatments have no harmful effects on human or animal health.
In agriculture, maltodextrin is used in liquid formulation, in suspension concentrated at 49%. The mode of action on target parasites is similar to what we have seen with potash soaps, let’s understand it better.
Mode of action
The maltodextrin-based liquid formulation acts by contact, in two different specific ways.
The product is very viscous and dries quickly, occluding the tracheal coils of the insects, causing their death by asphyxiation.
Furthermore, as typical of sugars, the osmotic potential of maltodextrin (ie the ability to absorb water) causes a further dehydrating action to occur towards the affected insects.
Parasites against which maltodextrin is effective
Maltodextrin is used against mites (red spider mite), aphids and whiteflies (whitefly), at all stages of their biological cycle.
Due to its mode of action it is not a selective product, therefore it should not be used in flowering to avoid damaging the plants pollinating insects.
It can be used in open fields and in greenhouses, on horticultural, flower and ornamental crops.
Registered product
Only one maltodextrin-based commercial formulation is currently registered in our country, and you can find it with the Eradicoat denomination.
Practical advice for use
The liquid formulation contains 598 g/l of maltodextrin and must be further diluted in water at a dosage of 2.5 l/hl. For lower dosages we convert to 25ml per 1 liter of water, 250ml per 10 liters of water.
Given the particular mode of action, the advice is to carry out the treatments on sunny days, on dry vegetation and during the hottest hours of the day, in order to favor the immediate drying of the product on the target insect. A homogeneous wetting of the vegetation is also necessary, without neglecting the underside of the leaves.
The treatment can be repeated several times during the same crop cycle, but the best thing is to always intervene at the first outbreaks of infestation.
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