The base oil used to formulate JMS Stylet-Oil, Organic JMS Stylet-Oil and JMS Stylet-Oil for Grass Seed Use is defined in the industry as a Technical Grade White Mineral Oil (or white oil). The decision to provide growers with a technical grade white oil for disease and insect control was made more than two decades ago by JMS Flower Farms, Inc.

Providing growers with a highly refined, superior technical grade white oil has a number of advantages over non-white horticultural oils. The purity (or Unsulfonated Residue) of the base oil used in Stylet-Oil is 99.1%; the purity of non-white horticultural oils is typically 92%. This difference in purity can have significant consequences:

1. There is more active ingredient (ai) in white oils than in typical non-white horticultural oils;
    
2. White oils do not contain aromatic hydrocarbons, thus, these compounds are not freely evaporating into the atmosphere from spray applications. Typical 92% UR horticultural base oils can contain as much as 8% aromatic hydrocarbons — all of which evaporate into the atmosphere as air pollutants;
    
3. Included in these aromatics are Carcinogenic compounds such as benzene, toluene and Xylene. After refining, these compounds are not effectively removed from 92% UR oils but are removed using the refining processes to manufacture white oil;
    
4. Potential for phytotoxicity (plant injury) is minimized when using white oils due to the removal of impurities, including the aromatic compounds.

What Is White Mineral Oil?

White oils are tested by regulatory agencies, such as the United States Food & Drug Administration (FDA), the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) and the National Formulary. Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations outlines criteria that must be met for defining white mineral oil. The base oil in Stylet-Oil meets requirements set forth in CFR 178.3620 (b) for technical white mineral oils. These requirements are met by additional steps in refinement, including high temperature and pressure referred to as hydrotreating. These steps insure the removal of impurities, providing a clean oil that meet the requirements for a white oil.

All in all, Stylet-Oil formulations provide you as a grower with a clear choice — a clean, high purity oil that has made it the leading choice amongst growers spraying food crops to control disease and insect pests.