New arylpicolinate herbicide chemistry under development for rice, aquatic
weed management, and other uses was evaluated using five aquatic plants. The
herbicide
4-amino-3-chloro-6-(4-chloro-2-fluoro-3-methoxyphenyl)-5-fluoro-pyridine-2-benzyl
ester—also identified as XDE-848 BE or SX-1552 (proposed International
Organization for Standardization common name in review; active tradename
RinskorTM)—and its acid form (XDE-848 acid or SX-1552A) were
evaluated on three dicots: (1) Eurasian watermilfoil (EWM), (2) megalodonta,
and (3) crested floating heart (CFH), and two monocots: (1) hydrilla and (2)
elodea. A small-scale Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD) protocol developed using EWM for registration studies was utilized.
EWM and megalodonta were also evaluated in larger-scale mesocosms for
comparison. In-water concentrations between 0.01 and 243 μg ai
L−1 as SX-1552 or SX-1552A were applied under static
conditions for 14 (growth chamber) or 28 d (mesocosm). EWM was susceptible
to both SX-1552 and SX-1552A, with dry-weight 50% effective concentration
(EC50) values of 0.11 and 0.23 μg ai L−1 under
growth chamber conditions. Megalodonta had EC50 values of 11.3
and 14.5 μg ai L−1 for the SX-1552 and SX-1552A. CFH was more
sensitive to SX-1552 (EC50 = 5.6 μg ai L−1) than to
SX-1552A (EC50 = 23.9 μg ai L−1). Hydrilla had
EC50 values of 1.4 and 2.5 μg ai L−1, whereas
elodea was more tolerant, with EC50 values of 6.9 and 13.1 μg ai
L−1 for SX-1552 and SX-1552A, respectively. For EWM mesocosm
trials, EC50 values for SX-1552 and 1552A were 0.12 μg ai
L−1 and 0.58 μg ai L−1, whereas the megalodonta
EC50 was 6.1 μg ai L−1. Activity of SX-1552 on EWM,
hydrilla, and CFH merits continued investigation for selective aquatic weed
control properties. Results suggest that the OECD protocol can be used to
screen activity of herbicides for multiple aquatic plant species.