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Metolachlor is an
organic compound that is widely used as a herbicide.It is a derivative
of aniline and is a member of the chloroacetanilide herbicides.
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It is used for grass and
broadleaf weed control in corn, soybean, peanuts, sorghum, and cotton.
It is also used in combination with other herbicides.
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Trade names for products
containing metolachlor include Bicep, CGA-24705, Dual, Pennant, and
Pimagram.
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The compound may be used
in formulations with other pesticides (often herbicides that control
broad-leaved weeds) including atrazine, cyanazine, and
fluometuron.
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Metolachlor is a
colorless to tan, odorless liquid applied as an emulsion on crops.
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Metolachlor is a
preemergence (applied before crop sprout) herbicide that controls most
annual grasses and many weeds in beans, chickpeas, corn, cotton.
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It is absorbed by plants
and inhibits plant protein synthesis.
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Metolachlor is one of
the top 5 pesticides detected in surface waters in the corn belt (US
EPA).
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Metolachlor has a soil
half-life of a few weeks to three months and is degraded
microbiologically and photochemically to at least five different
products.
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Metolachlor or its
degradates can leach from soils and have been detected in watersheds of
agricultural land, in both ground and surface waters.
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In soil, metolachlor is
transformed to its metabolites primarily by biodegradation.
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Biodegradation will be
the major process by which metolachlor will be lost from most soils .
Although metolachlor degraded in a soil with a half-life of 56 days,
only approximately 5% of the compound mineralized to carbon dioxide in
84 days . Some loss of metolachlor from soil surface will occur as a
result of photolysis by sunlight .
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Metolachlor is a
slightly toxic compound in EPA toxicity class III.
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Metolachlor is highly
persistent in water over a wide range of water acidity. Its half-life at
20 C is more than 200 days in highly acid waters, and is 97 days in
highly basic waters. Metolachlor is also relatively stable in water
under natural sunlight.
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Products containing
metolachlor herbicides have the potential to leach through soil into
ground water under certain condition as a result of agricultural
use.
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Metolachlor is a growth
inhibitor affecting root and shoot growth after seeds have germinated.