Physico‐chemical studies on agricultural sprays. II.—The phytotoxicity of surface‐active agents on leaves of apple and plum trees

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Abstract
The phytotoxicity of solutions of anionic, cationic and non‐ionic surface‐active agents to the leaves of several varieties of apple and plum trees is described. The leaf damage is shown to be dependent largely on the chemical nature and the concentration of the surface‐active agent and also on the species of tree. Other factors which affect the damage to a more limited extent are the variety and manurial status of the tree, the age of leaf and weather conditions.Many of the ionic materials cause considerable leaf damage, particularly cationic materials on plum leaves, but the non‐ionic materials are relatively safe to use. The damage is considered to result from the disorganisation of the cell permeability barriers following the penetration of the surface‐active agent through the leaf cuticle. Possible routes for such penetration are discussed.