Adjuvants for agricultural chemicals

A method of optimizing the open time of aqueous agrochemical spray droplets on a target plant, the method comprising:

• preparing an aqueous concentrate comprising an effective amount of at least one gum selected from the group consisting of xanthan gum, konjac, carboxymethylcellulose, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, carrageenan, methylcellulose and combinations thereof and diluting the aqueous concentrate in an aqueous agrochemical composition comprising an agrochemical selected from the group consisting of herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, plant growth regulators, bactericides, and acaracides;
• and
• spraying the resulting aqueous composition through a spray nozzle under a pressure of 15 to 115 pounds per square inch to form the aqueous agrochemical spray droplets;
• wherein each aqueous agrochemical spray droplet has a surface tension of at least 70 dynes per centimeter;
• and
• wherein the effective amount is the amount of the at least one gum required to cause at least 70 percent of the aqueous agrochemical spray droplets to have a median diameter between 165 and 670 microns after traveling six inches from the spray nozzle, and wherein the aqueous composition does not contain a surfactant.