Research advances and application prospects of microencapsulation techniques in pesticide

Research advances and application prospects of common microencapsulation techniques including spray drying, solvent evaporation, interfacial polymerization, in situ polymerization, phase separation and self-assembly were summarized, and novel microencapsulation methods such as microfluidic technique and coordination method were introduced. Current situation of microcapsule registration in China was analyzed, and it was proposed that the development of microcapsule products should take the objective of microencapsulation into consideration, such as masking odors, anti-photolysis, reducing leaching and drift of active ingredients. Meanwhile, the physical and chemical characteristics of pesticides, the control targets, the application environment and methods, the practical requirements and the ultimate control efficacy were all factors that should be assessed to determine whether the pesticides suitable for microencapsulation or not, and appropriate wall materials, microencapsulation methods and formulations should be selected. Further study on microencapsulation is needed, especially on microcapsule for seed treatment or soil treatment, microcapsule embedding fresh-keeping agent, essential oil or sex pheromone. In addition, more attention should be paid to the release dynamics of core material in different environment, pesticide residues due to slow release, degradation of wall materials and so on. It is very important to develop highly safe and biodegradable wall materials and explore microencapsulation techniques with high-efficacy and practical release-control capacity.