HRP920524A2 - Herbicidal compositions - Google Patents

Description

Field of invention

This invention relates to new herbicide ingredients and methods for destroying weeds.

Previous condition

US patent no. 2927014 discloses that phosphonates and phosphinates have herbicidal properties. We have now discovered that the combination of certain alkyl substituted phosphonates and phosphinates in accordance with the US patent, together with certain sugar beet herbicides is surprisingly fruitful and effective.

Description of the invention

On the one hand, the invention provides that the herbicide is composed of:

a) at least one phosphonate or phosphinate of the following formula:

[image]

wherein R and R1, which may be the same or different, each represent straight or branched alkyl of 1 to 12 carbon atoms, and x and y are each 1 or 2, the sum of x and y being 3, and

b) at least one mixture composed of fenmedifam, desmedifam, metamitron, lenacil, etofumesate and chlorodiazon,

together with a suitable carrier and/or surfactant.

On the other hand, the invention provides a method of combating weeds which includes the application of an effective amount of two components (a) and (b) to infected or prone to infection areas.

Preferred compounds of formula I are those in which R and R1 each represent 2-ethylhexyl or dodecyl, especially o,o-bis(2-ethylhexyl) (2-ethylhexyl) phosphonate.

The weight ratio (a) to (b) used is preferably from 10:1 to 1:10, especially from 5:1 to 1:5.

The compounds of the invention are herbicidally active against a wide range of broadleaf and grassy weeds, including Alopecurus, Echinochloa, Setaria, Amaranthus, Atriplex, Centaurea, Galium, Matricaria, Mercurialis, Polygonum and Stellaria species, but are comparatively safe for certain types of crops, especially for sugar beet. Thus, they can be used as herbicides, and in particular as selective herbicides, especially when controlling the development of weeds in these crops.

The ingredients of the invention usually contain from 0.01 to 99% by weight of the said mixture, and are normally produced initially as concentrates containing from 0.5 to 99%, preferably from 0.5 to 85% and especially from 10 to 50% by weight thereof. If necessary, such concentrates can be diluted before application to the area to be treated so that the active ingredients represent from 0.01 to 5% of the weight of the applied mixture.

The carrier may be water, in which case an organic diluent may be added, although this is not usually used. A liquid concentrate mixture can also be obtained by mixing the mixture with water, an aqueous agent and a suspending agent, for example xanthan gum.

The carrier can alternatively be a hydrocarbon of an organic nature which is immiscible with water, for example a hydrocarbon which boils between 130-270° C, for example xylene, in which the mixture is dissolved or solidified. An emulsifiable concentrate containing a water-immiscible diluent can be obtained with the help of a surface-active agent so that the concentrate behaves as a self-emulsifiable oil with additional mixing with water.

The carrier may alternatively be a water-miscible organic solvent, for example 2-methoxy ethanol, methanol, propylene glycol, diethylene glycol, diethylene glycol monoethyl ether, methylformamide or dimethylformamide.

The carrier can also be in a solid state that can be finely divided or granulated. Examples of suitable solid supports are limestone, clay, sand, siltstone, chalk, attapulgite, diatomite, perlite, sepiolite, silicates, diatomaceous earth, lignosulfonates and solid artificial fertilizers. The carrier can be of natural or synthetic origin, or it can be a modified natural material.

A water-soluble or water-dispersible wetting powder can be additionally formed by mixing the mixture in a separate form with a special carrier or by spraying the mixture from the molten mass on a special carrier, with the additional mixing of the wetting agent and dispersing agent and finely grinding the whole mixture into a powder .

One composition in aerosol form can be made by mixing the mixture with a propellant, for example a polyphalogenate alkane such as dichlorofluoromethane, and it is also suitable with a diluent.

The term "surfactant" is used in a broad sense to include materials of various names such as emulsifying agents, dispersing agents and wetting agents. These agents are well known in the art.

Surface-active agents can also contain anionic surface-active agents, for example mono- or diesters of phosphoric acids with fatty alcohol ethoxylate, or salts such as esters, fatty alcohol sulfates such as sodium dodecyl sulfate, ethoxylate fatty alcohol sulfate, ethoxylate alkylphenol sulfates, lignin sulfates, petroleum sulfonates, alkylarl sulfonates such as alkyl-benzene sulfonates or lower alkylnaphthalene sulfonates, salts of sulfonate naphthalinformaldehyde condensates, salts of sulfonate phenolformaldehyde condensates, or more complex sulfonates such as amide sulfonates, for example the sulfonate condensed product of oleic acids and N-methyl taurine or dialkyl sulfosuccinates for example sodium sulfonate of dioctyl succinate.

Surface-active agents can also contain non-ionic agents, for example condensed products or fatty acid esters, fatty alcohols, fatty acid amides or alkyl-substituted phenols and eliene oxides, fatty esters of polyhydric alcohol ethers for example sorbitan fatty acid esters, condensed products such as which are esters with ethylene oxide, for example polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid esters, block copolymers of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide, acefcylene glycol such as 2,4,7,9-tetramethyl-5-decyne-4,7-diol or ethoxylated acetylene glycols. Surfactants may also contain cationic agents, for example an alkyl- and/or aryl-substituted quaternary ammonium compound such as cetyl trimettilamonium bromide, or ethoxylated tertiary fatty amines.

Preferred surface active agents include ethoxylated fatty alcohol sulfates, lignin sulfonates, alkyl-aryl sulfonates, salts of sulfonate phanbulfonaaldehyde condensates, sodium oleoyl N-methylat tauride, dialkyl sulfosuccinates, alkyl phenol ethoxylates, and fatty alkyl ethoxylates.

If ingredients (A) and (B) are used one after the other, then they can be used separately in an ingredient analogous to the ingredients described above.

If desired, the ingredients may also contain one or more further active ingredients, for example herbicides, fungicides or insecticides in addition to ingredients (a) and (b).

This mixture may be applied to plantations, arable land, soil or water areas, and especially to areas where crops are growing. The method is particularly active after germination.

With this method, the amount (a) of 0.01 to 1 kg/ha is recommended, preferably 0.05 to 0.25 kg/ha. Amount (b) should be from 0.01 to 2 kg/ha, preferably from 0.05 to 0.5 kg/ha. The amount of (a) and (b) in the total application should be from 0.3 to 3 kg/ha.

Examples

The invention is illustrated with the help of the following examples in which the mixtures used can be identified as follows:

I 0.0-to (2-ethylhexyl)

(2-ethylhexyl) phosphonate

II phenmedipham

III metamitron

IV lenacil

V chloridazone

VI desmedifam

and plant species are identified as follows:

and Alopecurus myosuroides

b Amaranthus retroflexus

c Atriplex hortensis

d Beta vulgaris altissima

and Beta vulgaris crassa

f Beta vulgaris conditiva

g Centaurea cyanus

h Echinochloa crug-galli

and Galium aparine

j Matricaria chamomilla

k Mercurialis annua

l Setaria italica

m Stellaria media.

All application rates are given in grams per hectare (g/ha).

Example 1

The mixtures listed below were applied alone as well as in combination at the percentages indicated for sugar beet to weeds growing in the greenhouse. Herbicide effects were observed 6-10 days after treatment on a scale from 0 (no effect) to 10 (complete destruction).

Here are the results that were obtained:

[image]

Example 2

The mixtures listed below were applied alone and in combination at the percentages indicated for sugar beet to weeds growing in the greenhouse. Crops were harvested 8 to 14 days per treatment and harvest weight was measured. Now the percentage of reduced weight compared to the area where herbicide treatment was not performed is shown:

[image] [image]

Claims (10)

1. Herbicidal composition characterized by the fact that it contains: (a) at least one phosphonate or phosphinate of the formula: [image] wherein R and R1, which may be the same or different, each represent [straight or branched] alkyl of 1 to 12 carbon atoms, and x and y are 1 or 2, with the sum of x and y being three; (b) at least one compound selected from fenmedipham, desmedipham, metamitron, lenacil, etofumesate and chloridazone; or a combination of 2 or more; in conjunction with a suitable carrier and/or surfactant. 2. The composition according to claim 1, characterized in that each R and R1 group in the mixture of formula I is 2-ethylhexyl or dodecyl. 3. The composition according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that x, in the mixture of formula I, is 2. 4. The composition according to any patent claim from 1 to 3, characterized in that the weight ratio of ingredient (a) and ingredient (b) is in the ratio of 1:10 to 10:1. 5. The composition according to claim 4, characterized in that the weight ratio of component (a) in relation to component (b) is 1:5 to 5:1. 6. A method of combating weeds, characterized in that the weed-infested area, or the area prone to weeding, is treated with an effective amount of the two components (a) and (b) as specified in patent claim 1. 7. The method according to patent claim 6 characterized in that the ingredients (a) and (b) are applied in the form of a composition according to any patent claim from 1 to 5. 8. The method according to patent claims 6 or 7, characterized in that the amount of component (a) applied is from 0.01 to 1 kg/ha. 9. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that the quantity (b) applied is from 0.01 to 2 kg/ha. 10. The method according to any patent claim from 6 to 9, characterized in that the total amount of components (a) and (b) applied is from 0.3 to 3 kg/ha.