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POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH THE NEW SULFONYLUREA HERBICIDES
Citation:
Fletcher, J., T. Pfleeger, AND H. Ratsch. POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH THE NEW SULFONYLUREA HERBICIDES. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-93/476 (NTIS PB94117553), 1993.
Description:
The first sulfonylurea herbicide, chlorsulfuron was introduced in 1982. embers of this new herbicide class are known for their high toxicity toward plant growth, low application rate, extremely low toxicity to humans and other animals, and phytotoxicity reported due to the inhibition of a single enzyme (acetolactate synthase). ll these characteristics make the sulfonylurea herbicides ideal candidates for replacing some of the older herbicides in efforts to reduce the quantity of chemicals used, to eliminate herbicides with relatively high animal toxicity, and to replace compounds such as atrazine which have contaminated the groundwater in many agroecosystems. here are some anecdotal claims from certain regions of the United States that drifting sulfonylureas have caused crop losses by disrupting normal reproductive processes.If low concentrations of drifting sulfonylurea compounds do disrupt plant reproduction, then it follows that expanded use of these chemicals around the world could have a devastating impact on the productivity of nontarget crops and the makeup of natural plant communities and wildlife food chains. he authors have used fruit yield on cherry trees as a model system to evaluate the influence of sulfonylureas on plant reproduction.
