Diaryloxyacetate herbicides

The discovery and investigation of a novel family of herbicides containing a diaryl acetal are described. The stability of the acetal limited herbicidal efficacy and recognizing that fact led to the design of analogs with commercial levels of post-emergence activity on broadleaf weeds. These compounds inhibited acetolactate synthase and in vitro activity data were used to guide target design. However, no members of this family provided a commercially valuable combination of herbicidal efficacy and crop selectivity.