Protox inhibitors are applied as foliar sprays, thus causing very rapid cellular collapse and desiccation of many troublesome weeds in the presence of light. In many respects, they appear to be ideal herbicides, because they act rapidly and do not harm mammals under normal conditions. The main limitation to their widespread adoption is that few crops are naturally resistant to them. Crop tolerance has mainly been pursued with the synthesis of the cyclic imide classes containing 5- and 6-membered heterocycles, including pyrazole, pyridazine, 1,2,4-triazine, triazolinone and trifluoromethyluracil derivatives. Because of their structural novelties and biological performance, active investigations on heterocyclic protox inhibitors have been carried out in our laboratories and we have found 3-arylpyrroles to be a new class of light-activated, membrane-disrupting herbicides. They are active on both grass and broadleaf weeds at low rates. The synthesis and structure-activity relationships are presented.

Cytotoxic agents with antijuvenile hormone activity in insects have been discovered. Their mechanism of action may involve an oxidative bioactivation into a reactive quinone methide.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

This paper reports the synthesis and the biological activity of benzoyl arylureas in which the aryl group bears a trifluoromethyl‐substitiited alkyl or alkenyl side chain, R. The activity of these compounds has been evaluated on larvae of S. littoralis, A. aegypti, L. decemlineata and on the eggs of T. urticae. In general: (1) the optimum insecticidal activities are achieved when the substituents on the benzoyl moiety, R1, and R2, are 2,6‐difluoro, the substituents on the aryl moiety, R3, are 3,5‐dichloro and R1, is 4‐(CHC(CI)CF3); (2) the best acaricidal activity is shown when R1, is 2‐CI, R2, and R3, are hydrogen atoms and R1, is 4‐(CH2CH2CH(CI)CF3); (3) the best overall activity is displayed when R1, is 2‐CI, R2 is hydrogen, R3 is 3‐chloro and R1 is 4‐(CH2CH2CF3).

IR 5790, an arylthiadiazolone herbicide structurally related to oxadiargyl and oxadiazon, was synthesized. The herbicidal activity and mode of action of IR 5790 were investigated. This herbicide has broad-spectrum pre-emergence activity against both dicotyledonous and monocotyledonous weeds. The phenotypic responses of susceptible plants, such as interruption of growth and light-dependent development of necrotic areas on the foliage, are consistent with those observed with protoporphyrinogen oxidase-inhibiting herbicides. Tissues exposed to IR 5790 in darkness accumulated protoporphyrin IX, which led to a photodynamic loss of membrane integrity upon exposure to light. Consistent with these physiological symptoms, IR 5790 strongly inhibited protoporphyrinogen oxidase, with an I(50) value of 3 nM. The presence of a sulfur atom did not significantly alter the molecular properties of the thiadiazolone ring, relative to the oxadiazolone ring of oxadiargyl, which explains why IR 5790 has the same mode of action as this herbicide.

In the search for new juvenile hormone analogues (JHAs), a general approach was chosen based on the substitution of the isoprene unit, that carries the epoxy function in the natural hormone JHIII, by 3,3,3-trichloropropyI, 2,2-dichlorocyclopropylmethyl, 3,3-dichloroallyl, or 3-chloroprop-2-ynyl groups. Accordingly, several terpenoid aromatic JHAs were prepared with, or without, oxygen atoms in the aliphatic chain. Structure-biological activity relationships of the most active compounds toward the yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) and the large cabbage white butterfly (Pieris brassicae) are given. With a view to preparing synthetically accessible analogues, some alkyl phenyl ethers were also made, which were not branched in the aliphatic chain and were related terminally to the most active compounds. They were only moderately active against insects when tested for morphogenetic activity, but exhibited a good field persistence. The occurrence of a moderate acaricidal activity among these analogues prompted the examination of several 1,4-disubstituted-phenyl derivatives. The ovicidal effectiveness of these products against a susceptible strain of the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae, was ten or 100 times higher than that of the well known and highly potent JHAs. 423 424 P. Piccardi et al.