Paraquat and other dessicants and bleaching herbicides: Their influence on weeds, crops and human and animal health

Abstract

The paper provides an overview of various aspects of desiccants and bleaching herbicides, from different chemical groups, which have in common the drying and bleaching of leaf mass. In weed plants, they can act as total or selective herbicides, and be applied in the mature stages of the crop, where by drying the leaf mass they promote the maturation of some important crops such as sunflower, soybeans, and potatoes. More or less, all these various herbicides are highly or significantly toxic, which greatly complicates their application. In the EU, there was an initiative to ban some of them (e.g. paraquat). However, despite their significant toxicity, we believe they should be considered as an alternative to some other herbicides.