The Fate of Long Chain Esters of 2,4-D in Plants

Abstract

STERS of the chlorophenoxyacetic acids are generally considered to EL be more phytotoxic than the acid or acid salts (3, 12, 20). Hence the esters have found wide use in herbicidal formulations (12). Much research has been done on the mode of action of plant growth regulators, but the fate of neutral derivatives of active acids has received little attention, even though an acid side chain is one of the molecular requirements for growth substance activity (13). The importance of 2,4-D esters and esters of other growth substances justified a study of the fate of 2,4-D esters in plants. Hagen, et al. (9) have shown with the butyl ester of 2,4-D and castor bean lipase that hydrolysis of these esters can be catalyzed by plant enzymes. The fate of long-chain esters of 2,4-D in plants has been studied by three assay procedures. A preliminary report has been presented (18).