Herbicide safeners are
organic compounds used to enhance the effectiveness of
herbicides, to make them "safer". They minimize the effect of the herbicide on crop plants, thereby improving selectivity between
crop plants vs.
weed species being targeted by the herbicide.[1][2] One way that they function is by enhancing the expression of protective enzymes in the crop plant.[3] These protective enzymes might include
cytochrome P450.[4]
Herbicide safeners can be used to pretreat crop seeds prior to planting, or they can be sprayed on plants as a mixture with the herbicide.
After the discovery of the safener properties of
naphthalic anhydride,[5] additional safeners were reported. They are associated with particular crops, such as benoxacor for maize and flurazole for
sorghum.[6]
Approximately 20 safeners were in use in 2023. The inventory:[7]
^
abZhao, Yaning; Ye, Fei; Fu, Ying (2023). "Research Progress on the Action Mechanism of Herbicide Safeners: A Review". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 71 (8): 3639–3650.
doi:
10.1021/acs.jafc.2c08815.
PMID36794646.
S2CID256900178.
^Elmore, Matthew T.; Brosnan, James T.; Armel, Gregory R.; Vargas, Jose J.; Breeden, Gregory K. (2015). "Influence of Herbicide Safeners on Creeping Bentgrass ( Agrostis stolonifera ) Tolerance to Herbicides". Weed Technology. 29 (3): 550–560.
doi:
10.1614/WT-D-14-00045.1.
S2CID86197665.
^Su, Lei; Caywood, Leandra M.; Sivey, John D.; Dai, Ning (2019). "Sunlight Photolysis of Safener Benoxacor and Herbicide Metolachlor as Mixtures on Simulated Soil Surfaces". Environmental Science & Technology. 53 (12): 6784–6793.
Bibcode:
2019EnST...53.6784S.
doi:
10.1021/acs.est.9b01243.
PMID31132254.
S2CID167219731.