Methods and compositions for protecting plants and crops

A method for protecting an agricultural substance from pests which are harmful or pathogenic to the agricultural substance or for curing a pest-damaged agricultural substance, the method comprising:

• selecting a composition which comprises molecular iodine or which, upon application, releases molecular iodine from the group consisting of molecular iodine, an ionic iodine complex comprising iodine and an ionic complexing agent, and mixtures thereof;
• and applying a sufficient amount of the composition to the agricultural substance, which is optionally genetically modified, directly or indirectly as many times as necessary per annum so as to result in the application of from at least about 2.53 grams to about 80,000 grams of molecular iodine per acre of agricultural substance and so as to prevent substantial damage to the agricultural substance from the pests or to substantially reduce preexisting damage to the agricultural substance caused by the pests.

A method for protecting an agricultural substance from pests which are harmful or pathogenic to the agricultural substance or for curing a pest-damaged agricultural substance, the method comprising:

• selecting a composition which comprises molecular iodine or which, upon application, releases molecular iodine from the group consisting of molecular iodine, an ionic iodine complex comprising iodine and an ionic complexing agent, and mixtures thereof;
• and applying a sufficient amount of the composition to the agricultural substance, which is optionally genetically modified, directly or indirectly as many times as necessary per annum so as to result in the application of from at least about 1.0 gram to about 50,000 grams of molecular iodine per acre-feet of habitat and so as to prevent substantial damage to the agricultural substance from the pests or to substantially reduce preexisting damage to the agricultural substance caused by the pests, wherein the agricultural substance is selected from the group consisting of commercially raised tilapia, crawfish, crabs, squid, rotifers and shrimp.

A method for protecting an agricultural substance from pests which are harmful or pathogenic to the agricultural substance, the method comprising:

• selecting at least one agricultural substance from the group consisting of harvested crops and raw agricultural commodities;
• selecting a protectant composition which comprises molecular iodine or which, upon application, releases molecular iodine from the group consisting of molecular iodine, an ionic iodine complex comprising iodine and an ionic complexing agent, and mixtures thereof;
• and applying a sufficient amount of the protectant composition to the harvested crops as many times as necessary per annum so as to result in the application of from at least about 0.01 grams to about 5,000 grams of molecular iodine per metric ton of harvested crops and so as to prevent substantial damage to the plants from the pests or to substantially reduce preexisting damage to the agricultural substance caused by the pests.

A method for protecting an agricultural substance selected from the group consisting of plants, crops, harvested crops and mixtures thereof, from pests which are harmful, pathogenic or parasitic to the agricultural substance comprising:

• selecting a protectant composition which comprises molecular iodine or which, upon application, releases molecular iodine from the group consisting of molecular iodine, an ionic iodine complex comprising iodine and an ionic complexing agent, and mixtures thereof and at least one additive selected from the group consisting of secondary active ingredients and inert ingredients, with the proviso that the additive is not a crystalline organic tricarboxylic acid;
• and applying the protectant composition to the agricultural substance as many times as necessary per annum in an amount effective to prevent substantial damage to the agricultural substance from the pests or to substantially reduce preexisting damage to the agricultural substance caused by the pests.

A protectant composition for agricultural substances which comprises molecular iodine or which, upon application, releases molecular iodine wherein the protectant composition is selected from the group consisting of molecular iodine, an ionic iodine complex comprising iodine and an ionic complexing agent, and mixtures thereof, and a gaseous carrier.

A protectant composition for agricultural substances which comprises molecular iodine or which, upon application, releases molecular iodine, wherein the protectant composition is selected from the group consisting of molecular iodine, an ionic iodine complex comprising iodine and an ionic complexing agent, and mixtures thereof.