the granular fertilizers used in this invention include nitrogeneous fertilizers such as urea , ammonium sulfate , ammonium nitrate , ammonium chloride , urea - form , etc ., phosphatic fertilizers such as ammonium phosphate , superphosphate , triple superphosphate , etc . and potassic fertilizers such as potassium chloride , potassium sulfate , etc ., two component fertilizers such as nitrogeneous - phosphatic , nitrogeneous - potassic and phosphatic - potassic , three - component fertilizers such as nitrogeneous - phosphatic - potassic and these granular fertilizers which additionally contain elements necessary for growth of plants such as magnesium , boron , manganese , etc . and besides , above - mentioned fertilizers which additionally contain materials for adjustment of components such as gypsum , etc ., water insoluble clay minerals such as diatomite , talc , bentonite , etc . used for preventing flotation of fertilizers in application to paddy field and which are granulated by conventional methods . as the plant growth regulators used in this invention , mention may be made of , for example , ( e )- 1 -( 4 - chlorophenyl )- 4 , 4 - dimethyl - 2 -( 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl )- 1 - penten - 3 - ol ( referred to as &# 34 ; compound a &# 34 ; hereinafter ) or a salt thereof , ( e )- 1 - cyclohexyl - 4 , 4 - dimethyl - 2 -( 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl )- 1 - penten - 3 - ol ( referred to as &# 34 ; compound b &# 34 ; hereinafter ) or a salt thereof , 1 -( 4 - chlorophenyl )- 4 , 4 - dimethyl - 2 -( 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) penten - 3 - ol ( referred to as &# 34 ; compound c &# 34 ; hereinafter ) or a salt thereof , etc . these compounds a , b and c are known compounds disclosed in japanese patent publication ( laid - open ) nos . 25105 / 81 , 111477 / 80 and 28170 / 78 , respectively . content of the plant growth regulator in granular fertilizer composition is usually 0 . 001 - 0 . 02 % by weight of the fertilizer and that of fertilizer as active ingredient is usually 8 - 80 % by weight . application amount of active ingredient ( plant growth regulator and fertilizer ) is usually 500 - 1000 g / a . triethylene glycol used may be one which is sold for industrial purpose . when addition amount of triethylene glycol is too small , uniform coating on the surface of fertilizer cannot be performed and when too large , this is not only economically disadvantageous , but also causes deterioration of fertilizer components . thus , it is usually 0 . 1 - 5 % by weight , preferably 0 . 3 - 2 % by weight of the granular fertilizer . preparation of the granular composition of this invention may be effected typically by dissolving the plant growth regulator in triethylene glycol and , for example , spraying the solution onto granular fertilizer to coat the fertilizer with the solution . most commonly , there may be employed such method which comprises spraying triethylene glycol containing the plant growth regulator onto granular fertilizer which is being tumbled using apparatuses such as a rotating cylinder , a rotating pan , etc ., followed by addition of solidification inhibitors such as talc , diatomite , etc . with continuation of the tumbling . the following nonlimiting examples and test examples illustrate the invention ; all part and % are given by weight , unless otherwise notified . a solution of compound a in a solvent was sprayed at the ratio as shown in table 1 onto 1 kg of ammonium sulfate - ammonium phosphate fertilizer ( n : 13 %, p 2 o 5 : 13 % and k 2 o : 13 % and blending ratio ; ammonium secondary phosphate : 29 . 3 %, ammonium sulfate : 39 . 6 %, potassium chloride : 22 . 0 % and gypsum : 9 . 1 %) of 1 - 4 mm in particle diameter which was under rolling action at 80 ° c . on a pan type granulator and then , 0 . 5 % of talc was added to the fertilizer under tumbling to obtain ammonium sulfate - ammonium phosphate fertilizer compositions . states of the compositions as prepared are shown in table 1 . table 1______________________________________solvent compound a addition addition amount amount (% based on (% based on odor ofkind fertilizer ) fertilizer ) solubility product______________________________________triethylene 0 . 3 0 . 007 soluble odorlessglycol 0 . 5 0 . 007 &# 34 ; &# 34 ; ethylene 0 . 3 0 . 007 insoluble odorlessglycol ( compar - 0 . 5 0 . 007 &# 34 ; &# 34 ; ative ) n - nonyl 0 . 3 0 . 007 soluble unpleasantalcohol odor ( compar - 0 . 5 0 . 007 &# 34 ; &# 34 ; ative ) machine 0 . 3 0 . 007 insoluble oil odoroil ( compar - 0 . 5 0 . 007 &# 34 ; &# 34 ; ative ) ______________________________________ note : &# 34 ; solubility &# 34 ; is of compound a in solvent . a solution prepared by dissolving 0 . 004 % ( based on the weight of fertilizer ) of compound a in 0 . 3 % ( based on the weight of fertilizer ) of triethylene glycol was sprayed onto 1 kg of ammonium nitrate - ammonium phosphate fertilizer ( n : 6 %, p 2 o 5 : 4 % and k 2 o : 5 % and blending ratio ; ammonium primary phosphate : 9 . 0 %, ammonium nitrate : 7 . 0 %, ammonium sulfate : 15 . 2 %, potassium sulfate : 10 . 9 % and gypsum : 57 . 5 %) of 1 - 4 mm in particle diameter which was under tumbling at 70 ° c . on a pan type granulator and then , 0 . 5 % of talc was added thereto still under tumbling to obtain an ammonium nitrate - ammonium phosphate fertilizer composition . a solution prepared by dissolving 0 . 01 % ( based on the weight of fertilizer ) of compound a in 1 % ( based on the weight of fertilizer ) of triethylene glycol was sprayed onto 1 kg of urea fertilizer ( n : 18 %, p 2 o 5 : 18 % and k 2 o : 18 % and blending ratio : ammonium secondary phosphate : 40 . 2 %, urea : 24 . 5 %, potassium chloride : 30 . 1 % and gypsum : 5 . 2 %) of 1 - 4 mm in particle diameter which was under tumbling at 60 ° c . on a pan type granulator and then , 0 . 5 % of talc was added thereto still under tumbling to obtain an urea fertilizer composition . rice ( oryza sativa l . cv : koshihikari ) was cultivated in a paddy field and the granular fertilizer composition of this invention according to example 1 ( triethylene glycol : 0 . 5 % and compound a : 0 . 007 %), a wettable powder containing compound a as an active ingredient and a control granular fertilizer were respectively applied to the surface of the paddy field on the 18th day before heading . thereafter , cultivation was continued , and culm length and panicle length of the rice plants , degree of lodging of the plants and yield of rice were measured . the tests were repeated three times for one test plot of 10 m 2 and the results are shown in average values in table 2 . in the case of the control granular fertilizer , culm length was long and degree of lodging was high , therefore the yield was small . when compound a was used alone , culm length was shortened and lodging of the plants did not occur , but panicle growth was also inhibited , and hence the yield increasing effect was small . on the other hand , in the test plot of the granular fertilizer composition of this invention , culm growth was inhibited and thus lodging of the plants was prevented and furthermore , the inhibitory effect on the panicle growth was a little , resulting in increase of yield . table 2__________________________________________________________________________ applica - weight of tion culm panicle degree hulled amount length length of ricetest plot ( g / a ) ( cm ) ( cm ) lodging * ( kg / a ) __________________________________________________________________________granular fertilizer of 3000 78 . 6 19 . 0 0 . 3 50 . 6this inventioncompound a 0 . 21 74 . 3 17 . 9 0 48 . 5 ( a . i . ) control granularfertilizer 3000 90 . 3 19 . 8 3 . 3 42 . 1 ( n 13 %, p . sub . 2 o . sub . 5 13 %, k . sub . 2 o 13 %) non - treatment -- 87 . 4 18 . 8 2 . 3 43 . 3__________________________________________________________________________ * o : no lodging up to 5 : complete lodging
a granular fertilizer composition superior in plant growth regulating effects is provided which comprises a coating of a mixture of triethylene glycol and a plant growth regulator on a granular fertilizer .