The methyl ester of diclofop [2-(4-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy) phenoxy) propionic acid] was used in all of a series of experiments. When it was applied postemergence, it selectively controlled barnyardgrass [Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) Beauv.] in sugarbeets (Beta vulgaris L. ‘USH 9′). Tank-mixing diclofop with desmedipham [ethyl m-hydroxycarbanilate carbanilate (ester)] resulted in decreased control of barnyardgrass under greenhouse and field conditions. Losses in activity ranged from 10 to 80%. Delaying application of desmedipham following application of diclofop by 4 days in the greenhouse or in the field resulted in no reduction in barnyardgrass control. Increased rates of diclofop offset the antagonistic effect of desmedipham. Similar losses in activity occurred when Hoe-29152 {methyl-2-[4-(4-trifluoromethylphenoxy)phenoxy] propanoate} was tank-mixed with desmedipham.

Absorption and translocation of 14C-metriflufen {2-[4-(4-trifluoromethylphenoxy)phenoxy] propanoic acid} in johnsongrass [Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers.] and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr. ‘Lee 68’] were evaluated under different environmental conditions. At 40% relative humidity (RH), an increase in air temperature from 18 to 35 C increased translocation of the 14C in johnsongrass more than four-fold following application of 14C-metriflufen to an area on the third leaf. At 100% RH, translocation of the 14C was twice as great at 27 C as at 18 C, but translocation at 35 C was intermediate. In the combined analysis, translocation in johnsongrass was no better at 100% RH than at 40% RH. Regardless of level of RH, most translocation in johnsongrass at 18 and 27 C was toward the distal half of the treated leaf, but at 35 C most translocation was toward the proximal half of the treated leaf. Translocation of 14C in soybeans increased more than four-fold as air temperature was increased from 18 C to 35 C, and more translocation occurred at 100% RH than at 40% RH at 18, 27, and 35 C. More than 80% of the 14C-metriflufen remained in the treated leaf or on the surface of treated soybean leaves 48 h after application. More of the applied radioactivity was recovered from soybean plants than from johnsongrass plants.

Field evaluations for control of grass species were conducted with metriflufen, the methyl ester of {2-[4-(4-trifluoromethylphenoxy)phenoxy] propanoic acid}, applied as preemergence and postemergence treatments. The preemergence application of 0.28 kg/ha gave 84 to 100% control of all species except grain sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench], johnsongrass [Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers.], red rice (Oryza sativa L.), and green foxtail [Setaria viridis (L.) Beauv.]. These species required 0.84 kg/ha for at least 95% control. At the three-leaf stage, all species except cheat (Bromus secalinus L.) and red rice were highly susceptible to the herbicide at 0.56 and 0.84 kg/ha. At the six-leaf stage, 0.56 kg/ha of metriflufen gave 96% control of Texas panicum (Panicum texanum Buckl.) and goosegrass [Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertn.], but 0.84 kg/ha was necessary for 92% control of barnyardgrass [Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) Beauv.] and 85% control of large crabgrass [Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop.]. Except for cheat, metriflufen gave less than 55% control if applied when grasses were heading. Little postemergence control was evident for red rice.

Field and laboratory experiments were conducted in 1977 and 1978 to evaluate the movement and persistence in soil of metriflufen {methyl ester of 2-[4-(4-trifluoromethylphenoxy)phenoxy] propanoic acid} under different conditions. In the field, delaying incorporation of metriflufen did not affect its activity in Taloka silt loam for either year as shown by bioassay with grain sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench]. Metriflufen activity in the soil persisted for 63 and 40 days after application in 1977 and 1978, respectively. In the laboratory, metriflufen moved through saturated soil columns to an average depth of 7.5 and 18.5 cm following the addition of 2.5 or 10 cm of water to the columns. In a growth chamber bioassay, grain sorghum growth in treated soil gave a dose-response in a range of 0.02 ppmw (I10), 0.09 ppmw (I50), and 0.38 ppmw (I90). When soil treated with metriflufen at 1 ppmw was incubated for specified times under soil moisture levels of 5, 15, or 25% and temperature regimes of 15, 25, or 35 C, soil incubated at 15 C for as long as 75 days completely inhibited grain sorghum growth regardless of the other treatment variables. Grain sorghum growth inhibition was reduced with incubation time and warmer temperatures for treated soil maintained at 5 and 15% moisture, but sorghum growth inhibition persisted for treated soil incubated under wet (25% moisture) conditions.