Pendimethalin is an herbicide

Herbicide

Herbicides, also commonly known as weedkillers, are pesticides used to kill unwanted plants. Selective herbicides kill specific targets while leaving the desired crop relatively unharmed. Some of these act by interfering with the growth of the weed and are often synthetic "imitations" of plant...

 used in premergence and postemergence applications to control annual grasses and certain broadleaf weeds. It inhibits cell division and cell elongation. Pendimethalin is listed in the K1-group according to the HRAC classification and is approved in Europe, North America, South America, Africa, Asia and Oceania for different crops including cereals (wheat, barley, rye, triticale), corn, soybeans, rice, potato, legumes, fruits, vegetables, nuts as well as lawns and ornamental plants.

Use

Pendimethalin protects crops like wheat, corn, soybeans potatoes, cabbage, peas, carrots and asparagus. It is used to control annual grasses and certain broadleaf weeds which interfere with growth, development, yield and quality of agricultural and horticultural crops by competing on nutrients, water and light.

In areas where weed infestation is particularly high, yield losses can render wheat production economically unviable. In addition to wheat, a large number of crops are grown in Europe that are a relatively small percentage of total agricultural output. Herbicide options are limited for these minor crops, with few effective herbicides available in the vegetable sector. Long-term field studies performed in Germany by governmental research and advisory institutes together with farmers rank Pendimethalin as an efficient herbicide to control blackgrass, regarding to weed control efficacy, crop yield, treatment costs and environmental impact.

Mode of Action

Pendimethalin acts both pre-emergence, that is before weed seedlings have emerged, and early post-emergence. Pendimethalin inhibits root and shoot growth. It controls the weed population and prevents weeds from emerging, particularly during the crucial development phase of the crop. Its primary mode of action

Mode of action

Historically, pesticides have often been classified according to their chemical groups and this is useful for understanding the properties of a given compound. However, it is the Mode of Action group which possibly represents the most useful pesticide classification for biologists...

 is to prevent plant cell division and elongation in susceptible species. In the HRAC classification of herbicides according their mode of action, pendimethalin is listed in group K1.

Resistance

Herbicide resistance

Pesticide resistance

Pesticide resistance is the adaptation of pest population targeted by a pesticide resulting in decreased susceptibility to that chemical. In other words, pests develop a resistance to a chemical through natural selection: the most resistant organisms are the ones to survive and pass on their...

typically increases production costs and limits options for herbicide selection, cultivations and rotations. Up to now Pendimethalin does not show resistance. It is not cross-resistant with other grass weed herbicides. This means that Pendimethalin supports the effects of other supplementary grass weed herbicides that use a different mode of action.

Registrative status

Pendimethalin is registered globally for a wide range of crops, according to human and environmental safety standards by the European Commission, US-EPA, Canada-PMRA, Japan, Brazil-ANVISA and others.