Aim: To reduce the contamination arising from abuse of commercial pesticide formulations, the coaxial electrospray (CES) method was used for one-step microencapsulation and spraying of pesticides. Methods: After optimisation of process parameters, polymeric microcapsules with different structures were fabricated as the carriers of azoxystrobin (AZS). For the resultant microcapsules, the sustained pesticide release was verified in vitro and the adhesion properties were investigated through a normalised rinsing test. Results: The maximum encapsulation efficiency of the fabricated AZS-loaded microcapsules was 99.14%. Compared to commercial AZS aqueous suspension, the microcapsules fabricated by the CES method exhibited improved sustained release performance of AZS, which could be readily controlled by adjusting the shell thicknesses. Moreover, highly enhanced adhesion performance was observed for the AZS-loaded microcapsules directly sprayed in CES process. Conclusions: The CES process is promising to be applied as a one-step microencapsulation and spraying technology for improving pesticide utilisation and reducing environmental pollution.
Keywords: Azoxystrobin; coaxial electrospray; high efficiency; microcapsules; precision agriculture.