GLYPHOSATE

Common name: Glyphosate

Chemical name: N -(phosphonomethyl)glycine (IUPAC and CA)

Structural formula:

Chemical class: Organophosphorus herbicide.

CAS No.: 1071-83-6

Properties: Technical product is white to yellowish crystalline powder. M.p. 189-190 ℃ . V.p. Negligible. Soluble in water 11.6g/L (25 ℃ ). Insoluble in common organic solvents, e.g. acetone, ethanol and xylene. The alkali metal and amine salts are readily soluble in water. Glyphosate and all its salts are non-volatile, do not photochemically degrade and are stable in air.

Toxicity: Acute oral LD 50 for rats 5600, mice 11300, goats 3530 mg/kg. Acute percutaneous LD 50 for rabbits ﹥ 5000, rats ﹥ 5010, mice 7030 mg/kg. Eye irritant; non-irritating to skin (rabbits).

Ecotoxicology: Birds, acute oral LD 50 for bobwhite quail ﹥ 3851 mg/kg. Eight-day dietary LC 50 for quail and ducks ﹥ 4640 mg/kg diet. Fish, LC 50 (96 h) for trout 86, bluegill sunfish 120, harlequin fish 168, sheepshead minnow ﹥ 1000, fathead minnow 97 mg/L. Bees, LD 50 (contact and oral) ﹥ 100 μ g/bee. Daphnia, LC 50 (48 h) 780 mg/L.

Environmental fate: Animals, in mammals, following oral administration, glyphosate is very rapidly excreted unchanged and does not bioaccumulate. Plants, slowly metabolized to aminomethylphosphonic acid [1066-51-9], which is the major plant metabolite. Soil/Environment, in soil (field), DT 50 3-174 d, depending on edaphic and climatic conditions. In water, DT 50 varies from a fe to 91 d. photodegradation in water occurs under natural conditions, DT 50 ≤ 28 d; no substantial photodegradation in soil was recorded over 31 d. In a lab. whole system with water and sediment, DT 50 ≤ 14 d (aerobic), 14-22 d (anaerobic). The major metabolite in soil and water is aminomethylphosphonic acid.   

Treatment: Get medical aid. Eyes, flush with plenty of water for 15 minutes. Ingestion, immediately dilute by swallowing milk or water.

Mode of action: Non-selective systemic herbicide, absorbed by the foliage, with rapid translocation throughout the plant. Inactivated on contact with soil.

Usage: Control of annual and perennial grasses and broad-leaved weeds, pre-harvest, post-planting/pre-emergence and in stubble, in cereals, peas, beans, oilseed rape, flax and mustard at c. 1.5-2 kg/ha; as a directed spray in vines and olives at c. 4.3 kg/ha; in orchards, pasture, forestry and industrial weed control at c. 4.3 kg/ha. As an aquatic herbicide at c. 2 kg/ha.