Light Requirement of the Diphenylether Herbicide Oxyfluorfen

Abstract

Herbicidal activity of foliar-applied oxyfluorfen [2-chloro-1-(3-ethoxy-4-nitrophenoxy)-4-(trifluoromethyl)benzene] was light dependent in buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentumMoench. ‘Tokyo’). Plants were not injured when placed in the dark for as long as 4 days after herbicide treatment. When these plants were brought to the light, injury occurred, albeit more slowly than when plants were placed in the light immediately after treatment. The rate of injury increased as light intensity increased. The most effective wave length was 565 to 615ηm, suggesting the involvement of a pigment with its absorption spectrum in this region. Chlorophyll content was not reduced by oxyfluorfen. Preliminary evidence suggests that photosynthesis was affected only after membrane integrity was disrupted.