the composition according to the invention usually comprises the compound a and the hydroxyisoxazol in a weight ratio of 1 : 10 - 10 : 1 , preferably 1 : 1 - 6 : 1 . the composition of the invention may be used in various formulations for application as a fungicidal agent for agriculture and horticulture . that is , the mixture of the compound a and the hydroxyisoxazol is generally admixed with at least one adjuvant , the type of which is properly selected depending on the purpose in end use and is used in the form of , for example , an emulsion , wettable powder , dust , granules , micro granules or flowable agent . in the case , the effective components comprising of the compound a and the hydroxyisoxazol are used in such an amount as employed in usual agricultural or horticultural fungicides and is generally in the range of 0 . 5 - 95 wt %, preferably 2 - 70 wt %, of the composition . accordingly , the adjuvant is used in an amount of from 99 . 5 to 5 wt %, preferably , 98 - 30 wt % of the composition . various types of carriers may be used as the adjuvant including solid and liquid carriers . examples of the solid carrier are clay , kaolin , talc , diatomaceous earth , silica , calcium carbonate and the like . examples of the liquid carrier are benzene , alcohols , acetone , xylenes , α -, or β - methylnaphthalene , cyclohexane , dimethylformamide , dimethylsulfoxide , animal and plant oils , fatty acids , fatty acid esters and various surface active agents , and the like . aside from the carriers , any adjuvants generally employed for agricultural chemicals such as , for example , spreader , emulsifier , wetting agent , breaking agent , dispersant and binder may be used to ensure the antifungal effect of the effective components . these adjuvants may be used singly or in combination of two or more . the composition according to the invention may be used by mixing with other herbicides , insecticides , miticides , agricultural and horticultural fungicides , soil improvers or fertilizers . it is important to note that the composition of the invention is very effective in controlling soil borne diseases of plants or crops such as vegetables , beans , rice plants and beets . the novel compound a can be prepared by the following procedure . 4 . 29 g ( 0 . 021 moles ) of 4 - methanesulfonyloxybenzene - ethiol and 1 . 3 g ( 0 . 023 moles ) of methyl isocyanate were dissolved in 20 ml of benzene , to which a drop of triethylamine was added , followed by allowing to stand at room temperature for a while . the reaction solution was concentrated under reduced pressure to obtain crude crystals . the crude crystals were recrystallized from small amount of benzene to give 4 . 95 g of white crystals of compound a . elementary analysis ( for c 9 h 11 no 4 s 2 ): found : c : 41 . 60 % h : 3 . 87 %, n : 5 . 38 %; calculated c : 41 . 38 % h : 3 . 86 %, n : 5 . 37 %. then detailed formulation examples of the present invention are explained hereunder , however , the kind of the aditives and the mixing ratios should not be limited within the range of the examples but can be utilized in wider ranges for practical uses . the mixture of the above formulation was mixed and powdered to obtain a dust . 10 parts of compound a and 20 parts of the hydroxyisoxazol were mixed with 65 parts of kaolin , 3 parts of sodium alkylsulfate and 2 parts of sodium polyacrylate and finely powdered to obtain a wettable powder . 93 parts of silica granules with a size of 16 - 32 mesh were applied and covered on the surfaces thereof with a mixture of 4 parts of compound a , 1 parts of hydroxyisoxazol , both of which had been finely powdered , and 1 part of fine powder of synthetic hydrous silicic acid by the use of 1 part of polyethylene glycol 400 as binder to obtain a granule . 93 parts of fine particles of feldspar which had been been shifted out to have a size of 65 - 250 mesh were admixed with 1 part of polyoxyethylene ( n = 10 ) nonylphenyl ether , to which were further added in the following order 4 parts of compound a , 1 part of hydroxyisoxazol and 1 part of fine powder of synthetic hydrous silicic acid , all of which had been previously finely powdered , thereby giving a micro granule . in the soil treatment , the amount of the composition may vary depending on the weight ratio of the effective components , the manner of application , the type of formulation and the like . in this connection , however , the composition is applied preferably in an amount of 1 - 8 kg / 10a of compound a and 0 . 4 - 4 kg / 10a of the hydroxyisoxazol and most preferable 2 - 6 kg / 10a of compound a and 0 . 8 - 3 kg / 10a of hydroxyisoxazol in the case of overall soil treatment , ( where , 10a means 10 ares ). further , when the composition according to the invention is applied , for example , to a nursery box of a size of 60 cm × 30 cm × 3 cm , it is preferable to use in an amount of 0 . 5 g - 1 . 5 g of compound a and 0 . 08 - 0 . 6 g of hydroxyisoxazol per box when calculated as the effective components though the amount may vary , more or less , depending on the application conditions . the fungicidal effect of the composition of the invention will be particularly illustrated by way of the following experimental examples . control test for damping - off disease of rice plant seedling ( caused by trichoderma sp .) soil was filled in nursery boxes of a length of 60 cm , a width of 30 cm and a depth of 3 cm and bran medium in which trichoderma viride had been cultured was uniformly inoculated or distributed in the soil in an amount of 200 g per box . then , the dust of the composition of the invention as prepared in the same manner as in formulation example 1 was added in a predetermined amount and uniformly mixed with the soil . further , 0 . 3 l of seeds of rice plant ( variety : nihonbare ) per box was stripe sowed and nursed for 3 days in the inoculated box of 35 ° c ., followed by allowing to stand for further 3 days in a green house which was controlled at 25 ° c . in the day and at 20 ° c . in the night and then in a green house controlled at 20 ° c . in the day and at 15 ° c . in the night . nine days after the sowing the control effect was observed . the test results are shown in table 1 and expressed in terms of a control value which is determined as follows . ## equ1 ## table 1______________________________________ amount of effective con - components trol phyto - tested compounds ( g / box ) value toxity______________________________________example compound a + the 1 . 0 + 0 . 24 85 nilof hydroxyisoxazolinventions compound a + the hydroxyisoxazol 0 . 5 + 0 . 12 82 nil compound a 1 . 0 30 nilreference &# 34 ; 0 . 5 21 nil the hydroxyisoxazol 0 . 24 21 nil &# 34 ; 0 . 12 7 nil______________________________________ control test for damping - off disease of rice plant seedling ( caused by fusarium sp ) soil was filled in nursery boxes of a length of 60 cm , a width of 30 cm and a depth of 3 cm and a bran medium in which fusarium roseum had been cultured was uniformly added in an amount of 200 g per box . then , the dust of the composition of the invention as prepared in formulation example 1 was added in a predetermined amount and uniformly mixed with the soil . thereafter , 0 . 3 l of rice plant ( variety : nihonbare ) was stripe sowed and nursed in the box of 32 ° c . for 3 days , followed by allowing to stand for further 3 days in a green house which was controlled at 25 ° c . in the day and at 20 ° c . in the night then for 3 days in a room of 3 °- 5 ° c ., and finally in a green house which was controlled at 20 ° c . in the day and at 15 ° c . in the night for nine days , and then the seedlings were observed to check . the test results shown in table 2 are expressed in terms of the control value . the control value was determined as in experimental example 1 . table 2______________________________________ amount of effective con - components trol phyto - tested compounds ( g / box ) value toxity______________________________________example of compound a + the the hydroxyisoxazol 0 . 75 + 0 . 12 97 nilinvention compound + the hydroxyisoxazol 0 . 75 + 0 . 08 95 nil compound a + the hydroxyisoxazol 0 . 5 + 0 . 12 92 nil compound + the hydroxyisoxazol 0 . 5 + 0 . 08 84 nil compound a 1 . 0 90 nilreference &# 34 ; 0 . 75 70 nil &# 34 ; 0 . 5 30 nil the hydroxyisoxa - 0 . 16 60 nil zol the hydroxyisoxa - 0 : 12 45 nil zol the hydroxyisoxa - 0 . 08 20 nil zol______________________________________ control test for damping - off disease of rice plant seedling ( caused by rhizopus sp .) soil was filled in nursery boxes of a length of 60 cm , a width of 30 cm and a depth of 3 cm and a bran medium in which rhizopus chinesis had been cultured was uniformly inoculated in an amount of 500 g / box . then , experimental example 1 was repeated with the results shown in table 3 below . table 3______________________________________ amount of effective con - components trol phyto - tested compounds ( g / box ) value toxity______________________________________example of compound a + the 0 . 6 + 0 . 24 94 nil the hydroxyisooxazolinvention compound a + the 0 . 6 + 0 . 16 86 nil hydroxyisooxazolreference compound a 1 . 0 98 nil &# 34 ; 0 . 6 75 nil the hydroxyisoxa - 0 . 24 0 nil zol the hydroxyisoxa - 0 . 16 0 nil zol______________________________________ field soil was filled in pots with a diameter of 12 cm and then 5 g of infested soil in which phytophthora melonis had been cultured was uniformly inoculated on the soil surface in each pot . the dust of the composition of the invention as prepared in formulation example 1 was added in a predetermined amount and uniformly mixed with the soil . then seeds of cucumber ( variety : oyashima ) were sowed in each pot . the disease attack was observed by nursing the seeds in a green hourse . 20 days after the sowing , the seedlings were observed to determine the percentage of healthy seedling . ## equ2 ## table 4__________________________________________________________________________ amount of percentage effective compo - of healthy phyto - tested compounds nents ( g / pot ) seedling (%) toxity__________________________________________________________________________reference compound a 0 . 02 100 nil &# 34 ; 0 . 01 65 the hydroxyiso - 0 . 01 10 nil xazol the hydroxyiso - 0 . 005 5 xazolexample compound a + the 0 . 01 + 0 . 01 100 nilof the hydroxyisoxazolinvention compound a + the hydroxyisoxazol 0 . 01 + 0 . 005 95__________________________________________________________________________
a fungicidal composition useful in agriculture and horticulture comprising as effective components 4 - methylsulfonyl - oxyphenyl - n - methylthiolcarbamate and 3 - hydroxy - 5 - methylisoxazol . these effective components are generally mixed with at least one adjuvant when practically applied . a method for controlling soil borne plant diseases is also described using the fungicidal composition .