Selective weed control using D-napropamide

#The present invention relates to the use of Napropamide-M for selective control of dicotyledonous weeds.

#Many herbicides are reported in the prior art. However, the herbicidal effectiveness of a given compound cannot be predicted from an examination of the substituent groups of the compound and often quite closely related compounds, which will have quite different weed control abilities. Various herbicides or the isomers of the same herbicide may have overlapping or complementary areas of activity or selectivity, and can thus be useful to control a variety of weeds upon application of a composition. Furthermore, the various known herbicides are not completely effective. An ideal herbicide should give selective weed control, over the full growing season, with a single administration. It should be able to control all common weeds by controlling their growth and reproduction as the seed, the germinating seed, the seedling, and the growing plant.

#Although the enantiomers of chiral substances have the same physicochemical properties, their biochemical activities can be quite different because biochemical processes usually show high stereo- or enantioselectivity.

#In this specification, the terms Napropamide-M and D-Napropamide are used interchangeably.

#Racemic Napropamide has a satisfactorily good herbicidal activity. D-Napropamide possesses improved activity than L-Napropamide. A comparatively similar distribution of herbicidal activity enhancement by use of D-Napropamide (over racemic Napropamide) for monocotyledonous weeds as well as dicotyledonous weeds was expected. It was surprisingly found that D-Napropamide demonstrates a selectively enhanced control in the growth of dicotyledonous weeds in agronomic crops vis-à-vis the control in monocotyledonous weeds.

#Therefore, in an embodiment, the present invention provides use of D-Napropamide for the control of a dicotyledonous weed at a locus. Typically, the D-Napropamide is used for selective control of said dicotyledonous weed.