Herbicide

Definition: Herbicide

Herbicide

Noun

1. A chemical agent that destroys plants or inhibits their growth.

Date "herbicide" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1985. (references)

Specialty Definitions: Herbicide

Domain	Definitions
Agriculture	Any pesticide used to destroy or inhibit plant growth; a weed killer. (references)
Environment	A chemical pesticide designed to control or destroy plants, weeds, or grasses. (references)
Food & Agriculture	Substance which kills weeds. Source: European Union. (references)
Health	A chemical that kills plants. (references)
Public Administration	Chemical compound used to kill undesirable plants and weeds. Source: European Union. (references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Specialty Definition: Herbicide

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

A herbicide is a pesticide used to kill unwanted plants. Selective herbicides kill certain targets while leaving the desired crop relatively unharmed. Some of these act by interfering with the growth of the weed and are often based on plant hormones. Herbicides used to clear waste ground are nonselective and kill every plant with which they come into contact.

History

The first widely used herbicide was 2,4 dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, often abbreviated 2,4-D. It first saw widespread production and use in the late 1940s. It is easy and inexpensive to manufacture, and kills many broadleaf plants while leaving grasses unaffected. Its low cost has led to continued usage today. Like other acid herbicides, current formulations utilize either an amine salt (usually trimethyl amine) or one of many esters (ester) of the base compound. These are easier to handle than the acid.

There are earlier examples of cultural controls, such as altering soil pH, salinity, or fertility levels to control weeds.

2,4-D exhibits relatively poor selectivity, meaning that it causes stress to non-target plants. It is also less effective against some broadleaf weeds, including sedges and many vinous plants. Many other herbicides have been developed to address these limitations.

The 1970s saw the introduction of atrazine, which has the dubious distinction of being the herbicide of greatest concern for groundwater contamination.

Glyphosate, frequently sold under the brand name Roundup, was introduced in the late 1980s for non-selective weed control. It is now a major herbicide in selective weed control in growing crop plants due to the development of crop plants that are resistant to it. The pairing of the herbicide with the resistant seed led to the consolidation of the seed and chemistry industry in the late 1990s.

Uses

Herbicides are widely used in management of landscape turf and in agriculture. They are used in total vegetation control [tvc] programs for maintenance of way for highways and railroads. Relatively smaller quantities are used in forestry, pasture systems, and management of set-aside areas for wildlife habitat.

Classification of herbicides

Herbicides can be grouped by chemical family, mode of action, and type of vegetation controlled.

They are also classified by their activity:

Contact herbicides destroy only that plant tissue in contact with the chemical spray. Generally, these are the fastest acting herbicides. They are ineffective on perennial plants that are able to re-grow from roots or tubers.
Systemic herbicides are foliar-applied and are translocated through the plant and destroy a greater amount of the plant tissue.
Soil-borne herbicides are applied to the soil and are taken up by the roots of the target plant.
Pre-emergent herbicides are applied to the soil and prevent germination or early growth of weed seeds.

Application

Most herbicides are applied as water-based sprays using ground equipment. Ground equipment varies in design, but the greatest number of acres is sprayed with self-propelled sprayers equipped with a long boom (often 60-80 feet) with flat fan nozzles spaced about every 20". Towed, handheld, and even horse-drawn sprayers are also used.

Herbicides can also be applied aerially using helicopters or airplanes, and can be applied through irrigation systems (chemigation).

Terminology

Control is the destruction of unwanted weeds, or the damage of them to the point where they are no longer competitive with the crop
Suppression is incomplete control still providing some economic benefit, such as reduced competition with the crop
Crop Safety, for selective herbicides, is the relative absence of damage or stress to the crop. Most selective herbicides cause some visible stress to crop plants.

Some major herbicides in use today

Glyphosate, a systemic nonselective herbicide used in no-till burndown and for weed control in crops that are genetically modified to resist its effects
Paraquat, a nonselective contact herbicide used for no-till burndown and in aerial destruction of marijuana and coca plantings. More acutely toxic to people than any other herbicide in widespread commercial use.
2,4-D, a broadleaf herbicide in the phenoxy group used in turf and in no-till field crop production. Now mainly used in a blend with other herbicides that act as synergists.
clopyralid, is a broadleaf herbicide in the pyridine group, used mainly in turf, rangeland, and for control of noxious thistles. Notorious for its ability to persist in compost.
metoalachlor, a pre-emergent herbicide widely used for control of annual grasses in corn and sorghum; has largely replaced atrazine for these uses
dicamba, a persistent broadleaf herbicide active in the soil, used in turf and field corn
picloram, a pyridine herbicide mainly used to control unwanted trees in pastures and edges of fields.
atrazine, a triazine herbicide used in corn and sorghum for control of broadleaf weeds and grasses. Still used because of its low cost and because it works as a synergist when used with other herbicides.

Other herbicides of historical interest

2,4,5-Trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T) was a widely used broadleaf herbicide until being phased out starting in the late 1970s. While 2,4,5-T itself is of only moderate toxicity, the manufacturing process for 2,4,5T contaminates this chemical with trace amounts of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). TCDD is extremely toxic to people. With proper temperature control during production of 2,4,5-T, TCDD levels can be held to about .005 ppm. Before the TCDD risk was well understood, early production facilities lacked proper temperature controls. Individual batches tested later were found to have as much as 60 ppm of TCDD.

2,4,5-T was withdrawn from use in the USA 1983, at a time of heightened public sensitivity about chemical hazards in the environment. Public concern about dioxins was high, and production and use of other (non-herbicide) chemicals potentially containing TCDD contamination was also withdrawn. These included pentachlorophenol (a wood preservative) and PCBs (mainly used as a stabilizing agent in transformer oil).

Some feel that the 2,4,5-T withdrawl was not based on sound science. 2,4,5-T has largely been replaced by dicamba and triclopyr.

Agent Orange was a herbicide blend used by the U.S. military in Viet Nam between January 1965 and April 1970 as a defoliant. It was a mixture of 2,4,5-T, 2,4-D, and picloram. Because of TCDD contamination in the 2,4,5-T component, it caused serious illnesses in many veterans who were exposed to it. Agent Orange often had much higher levels of TCDD than 2,4 5 T used in the US. The name Agent Orange is derived from the orange color-coded stripe used by the Army on barrels containing the product.

External links

Manufacturers and distributors

http://www.dowagro.com

http://www.syngenta.com

http://www.basf.com

http://www.monsanto.com

Regulatory policy http://www.epa.gov

Usage statistics http://www.nass.usda.gov

2,4,5-T

http://www.gr.nl/pdf.php?ID=660

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Herbicide."

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Synonyms: Herbicide

Synonyms: weed killer (n), weedkiller (n). (additional references)

Synonym by domain: weedkiller (food & agriculture).

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Crosswords: Herbicide

English words defined with "herbicide": Agent Orange ♦ paraquat ♦ silvex, simazine. (references)

Specialty definitions using "herbicide": 1-Methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ♦ 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid, 2-Methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic Acid ♦ 4D ♦ Alachlor, Amitrole, Atrazine ♦ Dacthal, Dicamba, dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, Dinoseb, Diuron ♦ frill girdling ♦ hack-girdling ♦ LANDSCAPE SPECIALIST ♦ park worker, Pentachlorophenol, Phenylmercuric Acetate, Picloram, Propanil ♦ Roundup Ready soybeans ♦ Triallate, Trifluralin. (references)

Non-English Usage: "Herbicide" is also a word in the following language with the English translation in parentheses.

French (herbicide).

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Modern Usage: Herbicide

Domain	Usage
Movie/TV Titles	Herbicide Trials (1984)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Commercial Usage: Herbicide

Domain	Title
Books	21st Century U.S. Army Flame, Riot Control Agents, and Herbicide Field Manual (reference) Glyphosate: A Unique Global Herbicide (Acs Monograph, 189) (reference) Herbicide handbook of the Weed Science Society of America (reference) Herbicide Metabolites in Surface Water and Groundwater: Developed from a Symposium Sponsored by the Division of Agrochemicals and the Division of env (reference) Herbicide Resistance and World Grains (reference) (more book examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Image Slideshow: Herbicide

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Photo Album: Herbicide

Thumbnail	Description & Credit	Thumbnail	Description & Credit
	Volunteers from a local high school cut Brazilian Pepper bushes at their bases and then spray a spot application of herbicide. Brazilian Pepper is an introduced species that outcompetes the native mangroves.Credit: NOAA Restoration Center.		Indian River Lagoon is in the background of this image. The lagoon is one of the largest lagoons on the east coast of Florida and is prime habitat for Snook and Tarpon. The lagoon waters are estuarine. This image shows Brazilian Pepper stumps to the right of the volunteer's feet. Once the pepper bushes have been cut an herbicide will be applied to kill the bush.Credit: NOAA Restoration Center.
	This farmer uses a stop watch to calibrate his sprayer prior to applying herbicide.Credit: Tim McCabe.		Wiper attachment applies contact herbicide to only those weeds that grow above the soybean canopy for this northwest Iowa farmer.Credit: Lynn Betts.
	A farmer applies herbicide to the grass cover on steep-backslope terraces in northwestern Missouri.Credit: Norm Klopfenstein.		Hooded sprayers operated by field technician Victor Valladares direct herbicide just to areas between rows of grain sorghum. P.Credit: USDA ARS News; photo by Jack Dykinga..
	Environmentally friendly: Ultra-low volume herbicide application methods developed by ARS plant physiologist Chester McWhorter (now retired) and colleagues could significantly reduce the use of agricultural chemicals. P.Credit: USDA ARS News; photo by Keith Weller..		Products of twin-screw processing include fluid glycosides (1) for making rigid polyurethane foam blocks (2), starchencapsulated herbicide strands (3) that can be made into granules (4), semiflexible polyurethane foam with starch filler (5), cationic starch (6), and the famous superabsorbent starch, Super Slurper (7). P.Credit: USDA ARS News; photo by Keith Weller..
	Canada Thistle treated with herbicide.Credit: Barbara Brenner.		Helicopter herbicide spray operations in a clear cut area.Credit: Robyn Hertz.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Non-Fiction Usage: Herbicide

Subject	Topic	Quote
Health		The particular mixture of symptoms and clinical findings pointed researchers away from possible causes, such as exposure to a herbicide or a new type of influenza, and toward some type of virus. (references)
Business		Among the pesticides imported, insecticide made up a total value of $63 million; fungicides $45 million; Herbicide $132 million. (references)
		Rhone-Poulenc Chimie from France, Zeneca from U.K., and Ciba-Geigy from Switzerland have all set up joint ventures to produce herbicide and insecticide. (references)
		When considering the competitive situation, it should also be kept in mind that there are products that offer advantages similar or those of GMOs, for example, a non-GM but herbicide resistant "STS-soy" made by DuPont. (references)
Economic History	Ukraine	U.S. companies (and their European subsidiaries) have a strong competitive position in the herbicide, insecticide and seed disinfectant markets. (references)
	Colombia	Through aerial spraying of herbicide and manual eradication, Colombia has attempted to keep coca, opium poppy, and cannabis cultivation from expanding. (references)
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

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Speeches: Herbicide

Speaker	Term	Phrase(s)
Jimmy Carter	1977-1981	The Administration has also grappled with the difficult questions posed by some veterans who served in Southeast Asia and were exposed to potentially harmful substances, including the herbicide known as Agent Orange.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Usage Frequency: Herbicide

"Herbicide" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 97.37% of the time. "Herbicide" is used about 38 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)

Parts of Speech	Percent	Usage per 100 Million Words	Rank in English
Noun (singular)	97.37%	37	56,631
Lexical Verb (base form)	2.63%	1	339,140
Total	100.00%	38	N/A

Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

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Expressions: Herbicide

Expression using "herbicide": total herbicide. Additional references.
Hyphenated Usage
	Beginning with "herbicide": herbicide-resistant.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Frequency of Internet Keywords: Herbicide

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.

Expression	Frequency per Day
herbicide	233
herbicide roundup	78
herbicide manufacturer	62
crossbow herbicide	29
plateau herbicide	28
herbicide vantage	28
herbicide image	27
rodeo herbicide	25
manage herbicide	21
2 4 d herbicide	20
herbicide remedy	18
herbicide label	17
herbicide poast	17
applicator herbicide	16
ally herbicide	16
herbicide msma	15
herbicide reward	14
arsenal herbicide	13
callisto herbicide	12
herbicide round up	10
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Modern Translations: Herbicide

Language		Translations for "herbicide"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Albanian		herbicidë. (various references)

Arabic		‏أعشاب مجففة. (various references)

Bulgarian		хербицид (weed killer). (various references)

Chinese		除草药. (various references)

Danish		herbicid (weedicide, weedkiller), ukrudtsmiddel (weedicide, weedkiller), ukrudtbekaempelsesmiddel. (various references)

Dutch		herbicide (weedicide, weedkiller), onkruidverdelgingsmiddel, onkruidverdelger (weedicide, weedkiller), onkruidbestrijdingsmiddel (weedicide, weedkiller). (various references)

Finnish		herbisidi (weedicide, weedkiller), rikkakasvihävite (weedicide, weedkiller), rikkakasvien torjunta-aine (weedicide, weedkiller). (various references)

French		herbicide. (various references)

German		herbizid (weedicide, weedkiller). (various references)

Greek		ζιζανιοκτόνο. (various references)

Hungarian		növényirtó szer. (various references)

Italian		erbicida (weedicide, weedkiller), diserbante (herbicidal, weed killer, weedicide, weedkiller). (various references)

Japanese Kanji		除草剤 . (various references)

Japanese Katakana		じょそうざい. (various references)

Korean		� �초� � (hexane). (various references)

Norwegian		ugressmiddel. (various references)

Pig Latin		erbicidehay

Portuguese		herbicida (herbivorous, weedicide, weedkiller), herbário (herbarium). (various references)

Romanian		erbicid (weed killer). (various references)

Russian		гербицид (weedkiller, weed-killer). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian		koji uništava travu. (various references)

Spanish		herbicida (weedicide, weedkiller). (various references)

Swedish		herbicid (weedicide, weedkiller). (various references)

Thai		ยาฆ่าพืช. (various references)

Turkish		bitkileri yok eden madde. (various references)

Ukranian		гербіцід. (various references)

Vietnamese		thuốc diệt cỏ. (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

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Derivations: Herbicide

Derivations
	Words beginning with "herbicide": herbicides. (additional references)
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

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Rhyming with "Herbicide"

# of Phoneme Matches	Pronunciation	Word(s) rhyming with "herbicide" (pronounced her"busī'd or er"busī'd)
4	-u s ī' d	fratricide, fungicide, genocide, germicide, glucoside, glycoside, homicide, infanticide, insecticide, pesticide, prophesied, suicide.
3	-s ī' d	backside, bedside, blindside, broadside, countryside, curbside, dioxide, dockside, downside, fireside, graveside, harborside, hillside, Ironside, lakeside, mountainside, oxide, peroxide, poolside, ringside, riverside, roadside, seaside, silverside, superoxide, underside, wayside.
4	-u s ī' d	fratricide, fungicide, genocide, germicide, glucoside, glycoside, homicide, infanticide, insecticide, pesticide, prophesied, suicide.
3	-s ī' d	backside, bedside, blindside, broadside, countryside, curbside, dioxide, dockside, downside, fireside, graveside, harborside, hillside, Ironside, lakeside, mountainside, oxide, peroxide, poolside, ringside, riverside, roadside, seaside, silverside, superoxide, underside, wayside.
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

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Anagrams: Herbicide

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Words within the letters "b-c-d-e-e-h-i-i-r"
	-2 letters: birched.
	-3 letters: birdie, breech, cheder, chider, deicer, dicier, dreich, heired, herbed, herdic.
	-4 letters: beech, bider, birch, brede, breed, bride, cebid, ceder, cered, cheer, chide, cider, creed, cried, deice, dicer, eched, eider, heder, hider, hired, icier, rebec, rebid, riced.
	-5 letters: beer, bice, bide, bier, bird, bred, bree, brie, cede, cedi, cere, chid, cire, crib, deer, dere, dice, dire, dree, drib, eche, eide, hebe, heed, heir, herb, herd, here, hide, hied, hire, iced, ired, irid, rede, reed, rice, rich, ride.
	Words containing the letters "b-c-d-e-e-h-i-i-r"
	+1 letter: herbicides.
	+5 letters: indecipherable.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.