Claims
- 1. An aqueous composition suitable for application to alfalfa to increase the drying rate consisting essentially of
- (a) 85 to 99 weight percent water;
- (b) 0.10 to 10 weight percent paraffinic or isoparaffinic hydrocarbon;
- (c) 0.25 to 10 weight percent methyl ester of a C.sub.12-18 fatty acid or fatty acid mixture wherein the predominant acids have from 12 to 18 carbon atoms, said methyl ester having an acid value from 5 to 30; and
- (d) 0.5 to 5 weight percent potassium or sodium carbonate.
- 2. The aqueous composition of claim 1 wherein the methyl ester has an acid value from 10 to 25.
- 3. The aqueous composition of claim 2 wherein the paraffinic or isoparaffinic hydrocarbon is selected from the group consisting of mineral oil, kerosene, liquid petrolatum, mineral spirits, hexane, heptane, and hydrogented oligomers of decene-1.
- 4. The aqueous composition of claim 3 wherein (a) is present in an amount from 90 to 97 weight percent, (b) is present in an amount from 0.25 to 5 weight percent, (c) is present in an amount from 1 to 5 weight percent, and (d) is present in an amount from 1 to 5 weight percent.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This is a continuation of patent application Ser. No. 026,090 filed Mar. 16, 1987, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,762,724, which in turn is a continuation-in-part of our copending application Ser. No. 769,238, filed Aug. 26, 1985 now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (7)
Non-Patent Literature Citations (3)
Entry |
Wieghart et al., "Hastening Drying Rate of Cut Alfalfa with Chemical Treatment" J. Anim. Sci., vol. 51 (1980) pp. 1-9. |
Wieghart et al., "Acceleration of Alfalfa Drying in the Field by Chemical Application at Cutting" Crop Science, vol. 23 (1983) pp. 225 to 229. |
Tullberg et al., "The Effect of Potassium Carbonate Solution on the Drying of Lucerne" J. Agric. Sci. Comb, vol. 91 (1978) pp. 551-556. |
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
26090 |
Mar 1987 |
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Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
769238 |
Aug 1985 |
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