Herbicide safener explained

Herbicide safeners are organic compounds used to enhance the effectiveness of herbicides, to make them "safer". They minimize the effect of the herbicide on crop plants, thereby improving selectivity between crop plants vs. weed species being targeted by the herbicide.^{[1] [2]} One way that they function is by enhancing the expression of protective enzymes in the crop plant.^[3] These protective enzymes might include cytochrome P450.

Herbicide safeners can be used to pretreat crop seeds prior to planting, or they can be sprayed on plants as a mixture with the herbicide.

Inventory

thumb|right|190px|Flurazole is a safener applied to sorghum.After the discovery of the safener properties of naphthalic anhydride,^[4] additional safeners were reported. They are associated with particular crops, such as benoxacor for maize and flurazole for sorghum.^[5]

Approximately 20 safeners were in use in 2023. The inventory:^[6]

• benoxacor
• BPCMS
• cloquintocet
• cyometrinil
• cyprosulfamide
• dichlormid
• dicyclonon
• dietholate
• fenchlorazole
• fenclorim
• flurazole
• fluxofenim
• furilazole
• isoxadifen
• jiecaowan
• jiecaoxi
• mefenpyr
• mephenate
• metcamifen
• naphthalic anhydride
• oxabetrinil

These safeners have been classified according to structural motifs.^[7]

Further reading

• Review: 10.1002/(SICI)1096-9063(199911)55:11<1043::AID-PS60>3.0.CO;2-L . Herbicide safeners: A review . 1999 . Davies . Joanna . Caseley . John C. . Pesticide Science . 55 . 11 . 1043–1058 .
• Early pioneering report: 10.1104/pp.28.4.622 . Inhibition of Auxin Effects by 2,4,6-Trichlorophenoxyacetic acid . 1953 . Hoffmann . Otto L. . Plant Physiology . 28 . 4 . 622–628 . 16654579 . 540425 .

Notes and References

1. 12222792 . 2002 . Abu-Qare . AW . Duncan . HJ . Herbicide safeners: Uses, limitations, metabolism, and mechanisms of action . 48 . 9 . 965–74 . Chemosphere . 10.1016/S0045-6535(02)00185-6. 2002Chmsp..48..965A .
2. 10.1039/B100799H . Herbicide safeners - commercial products and tools for agrochemical research . 2001 . Davies . Joanna . Pesticide Outlook . 12 . 10–15.
3. 10.1104/pp.110.153601 . Detoxification without Intoxication: Herbicide Safeners Activate Plant Defense Gene Expression . 2010 . Riechers . Dean E. . Kreuz . Klaus . Zhang . Qin . Plant Physiology . 153 . 1 . 3–13 . 20237021 . 2862420 .
4. 10.1614/WT-D-14-00045.1 . Influence of Herbicide Safeners on Creeping Bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera) Tolerance to Herbicides . 2015 . Elmore . Matthew T. . Brosnan . James T. . Armel . Gregory R. . Vargas . Jose J. . Breeden . Gregory K. . Weed Technology . 29 . 3 . 550–560 . 86197665 .
5. 10.1021/acs.est.9b01243 . Sunlight Photolysis of Safener Benoxacor and Herbicide Metolachlor as Mixtures on Simulated Soil Surfaces . 2019 . Su . Lei . Caywood . Leandra M. . Sivey . John D. . Dai . Ning . Environmental Science & Technology . 53 . 12 . 6784–6793 . 31132254 . 2019EnST...53.6784S . 167219731 .
6. Web site: Compendium of Pesticide Common Names Herbicide Safeners .
7. 10.1021/acs.jafc.2c08815 . Research Progress on the Action Mechanism of Herbicide Safeners: A Review . 2023 . Zhao . Yaning . Ye . Fei . Fu . Ying . Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry . 71 . 8 . 3639–3650 . 36794646 . 256900178 .