Metabolism of trifluralin,profluralin, and fluchloralin by rat liver microsomes

Three structurally related [¹⁴C]dinitroaniline herbicides, trifluralin, profluralin, and fluchloralin, were extensively metabolized in vitro by both normal and phenobarbital-induced rat liver microsomes. Identification of the metabolites in the ethyl acetate extracts indicated that aliphatic hydroxylation, N-dealkylation, reduction of a nitro group, and cyclization were the predominant metabolic routes for these herbicides in vitro. Of particular interest was the formation of a benzimidazole metabolite.     

胡萝卜田苗后杂草化学防除药剂筛选

为探究安全、高效的胡萝卜田苗后杂草化学防除技术,采用盆钵法研究了13种苗后茎叶处理除草剂对胡萝卜的室内安全性,并对筛选得到的苗后除草剂进行了初步的田间药效及安全性试验。结果表明：供试13种除草剂中扑草净对胡萝卜的安全性较好,在225 g（a.i.）/hm²剂量下,胡萝卜苗的鲜重为53.61 g,与对照无显著差异,未出现药害反应;在450、750 g（a.i.）/hm²剂量下分别出现了1级和2级的低级别药害反应;而噁草酮、氰草津、嘧啶肟草醚、双草醚、辛酰溴苯腈、乙氧氟草醚、乙羧氟草醚、咪唑乙烟酸、灭草松、噻吩磺隆、双氟磺草胺和氯吡嘧磺隆在推荐剂量下,对胡萝卜鲜重抑制率为19.30%~100.00%,出现了3~5级的药害反应。扑草净对胡萝卜田杂草有较好的防效,在剂量为450~600 g（a.i.）/hm²时对胡萝卜田杂草总体的株防效和鲜重防效均达到80.56%以上,且对胡萝卜安全,无药害反应。胡萝卜田苗后杂草化学防除建议使用450~600 g（a.i.）/hm²扑草净进行茎叶喷雾处理,可达到对禾本科和阔叶杂草的有效防除,且对胡萝卜安全。     

The abnormal cell plates formed after microtubule disrupter herbicide treatment are enriched in callose

Mitotic disrupter herbicides are best known for their macroscopic effect on root tip swelling and their microscopic effect on the progression of chromosomes through mitosis. However, irregularities with the phragmoplast microtubules and cell plate formation occur at lower herbicide concentrations than these more familiar effects. Instead of the relatively straight cell plates found in control tissue, cell plates after mitotic disrupter treatment are often branched and grow irregularly throughout the cytoplasm. Sometimes these abnormal plates adhere to one wall and in most cases do not effectively divide the potential daughter cytoplasms. To determine the chemical composition of these abnormal cell plates, thin sections of treated onion root tips were probed with a battery of antibodies and cytochemical probes. Abnormal cell plates are greatly enriched in callose compared to control cell plates and accumulate very low levels of cellulose. The development of these wildly undulated and excessively branched or heavily thickened cell plates indicates the importance of microtubules in forming a proper cell plate and perhaps the necessity of stable microtubule arrays for the addition of cellulose to these structures. Because the abnormal plates occur at herbicide concentrations below that required for induction of mitotic arrest or root tip swelling, this effect may be the primary phytotoxic effect of these herbicides.     

Cytological studies of dinitroaniline-resistant Eleusine

Ultrastructural studies of primary roots (goosegrass) from dinitroaniline-resistant (R) and susceptible (S) biotypes of Eleusine indica (L). Gaertnr. establish a possible cytological basis for trifluralin resistance. Although the S biotype has a normal ultrastructure when grown in water, exposure to trifluralin solutions (between 10⁻⁸ and 10⁻⁵M) for 24 h results in a swelling of the root tip, typical of herbicides that affect microtubule production. The loss of spindle microtubules in the S biotype results in a mitosis arrested at prometaphase and the loss of cortical microtubules results in the formation of isodiametric cells in the zone of elongation. Nuclear membranes reform around the chromosomes in arrested prometaphase, producing abnormal, polymorphic nuclei. The mitotic index is increased in the S biotype after trifluralin treatment because many of the cells are arrested in prometaphase. The root tips of R biotypes are not swollen by even 10⁻⁵M trifluralin treatment. Trifluralin does not markedly affect cell division in the R biotype nor are the mitotic irregularities noted in the S biotype after treatment. However, even when the R biotype is not exposed to trifluralin, the microtubules are less abundant than in the S biotype and frequently cell walls are oriented abnormally or are incompletely formed. The level of resistance exhibited by the R biotype, the apparent difference in microtubule number and function between the two biotypes, and the lack of effect on the microtubules at high trifluralin concentrations indicate a site-of-action mutation.     

Ultrastructural effects of glyphosate on Glycine max seedlings

Roots and leaves of glyphosate-treated and untreated control soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr. cv. Hill] were examined by scanning and transmission electron microscopy to elucidate some of the events involved in glyphosate phytotoxicity. Study of the gross morphology of the roots by scanning electron microscopy revealed a swollen, “club” morphology at the root tip similar, but not identical, to that noted after treatment with herbicides such as trifluralin that disrupt mitosis. The swelling occurs much more slowly with glyphosate treatment than with the classical mitosis disrupters that react directly with tubulin. Nuclei in the glyphosate-treated root cells showed symptoms of microtubule loss; cells with heavily lobed nuclei or micronuclei and cells with arrested stages of division were frequently observed. Immunoblot quantitation of tubulin from control and glyphosate-treated roots revealed the presence of less tubulin protein in the glyphosate-treated roots. Some amelioration of the microtubule stability during fixation was provided by addition of the Ca²⁺ chelator EGTA. Chloroplasts of glyphosate-treated leaves were distinctly abnormal, with lamellae arranged in spiral-shaped grana stacks. Starch and stroma lamellae were also much less abundant in the glyphosate-treated plants.     

Effect of eight herbicides from five different chemical groups on nitrogen fixation and grain yield in Lupinus albus L. grown in semi-arid zones

Summary. The effects of five different chemical groups of herbicides: dinitroanilines, 1, 3, 5-triazines, 1, 2, 4-triazinones, α-chloroacetamides and carbamates on N₂-fixation & yield in Lupinus were compared. Cyanazine, simazine and trifluralin caused a significant increase in acetylene reduction activity (ARA), whereas the rest had no effect on ARA. Cyanazine and simazine significantly increased the grain yield and the weight of lupin seeds. The percentage of nitrogen in the seeds was significantly increased by cyanazine. An inventory of the weeds resistant to the herbicides in the treated subplots was also carried out. The dinitroaniline group mainly controlled Galium tricorne, Lolium multiflorum, Papaver rhoeas , and Avena sterilis whereas the 1, 3, 5-triazine and dinitroaniline herbicides. Carbamates and α-chloroacetamides were less effective Papaver rhoeas, Scandix pecten-veneris and Avena sterilis. Avena sterilis was controlled by both triazine and dinitro-aniline herbicides. Carbamates and α-chloroacetamides were less effective on the weeds growing with the lupinus plants.     

Herbicidal cyanoacrylates with antimicrotubule mechanism of action

The herbicidal mode of action of the new synthetic cyanoacrylates ethyl (2Z)-3-amino-2-cyano-4-ethylhex-2-enoate (CA1) and its isopropyl ester derivative CA2 was investigated. For initial characterization, a series of bioassays was used indicating a mode of action similar to that of mitotic disrupter herbicides such as the dinitroaniline pendimethalin. Cytochemical fluorescence studies including monoclonal antibodies against polymerized and depolymerized tubulin and a cellulose-binding domain of a bacterial cellulase conjugated to a fluorescent dye were applied to elucidate effects on cell division processes including mitosis and microtubule and cell wall formation in maize roots. When seedlings were root treated with 10 microM of CA1 or CA2, cell division activity in meristematic root tip cells decreased within 4 h. The chromosomes proceeded to a condensed state of prometaphase, but were unable to progress further in the mitotic cycle. The compounds caused a complete loss of microtubular structures, including preprophase, spindle, phragmoplast and cortical microtubules. Concomitantly, in the cytoplasm, an increase in labelling of free tubulin was observed. This suggests that the herbicides disrupt polymerization and microtubule stability, whereas tubulin synthesis or degradation appeared not to be affected. In addition, cellulose labelling in cell walls of root tip cells was not influenced. The effects of CA1 and CA2 were comparable with those caused by pendimethalin. In transgenic Arabidopsis plants expressing a green fluorescent protein-microtubule-associated protein4 fusion protein, labelled arrays of cortical microtubules in living epidermal cells of hypocotyls collapsed within 160 min after exposure to 10 microM CA1 or pendimethalin. Moreover, a dinitroaniline-resistant biotype of goosegrass (Eleusine indica (L) Gaertn) with a point mutation in alpha-tubulin showed cross-resistance against CA1 and CA2. The results strongly indicate that the cyanoacrylates are a new chemical class of herbicide which possess the same antimicrotubule mechanism of action as dinitroanilines, probably including interaction with the same binding site in alpha-tubulin.     

Root growth inhibition of rice by bensulfuron

Bensulfuron inhibited root growth of waterseeded rice (Oryza sativa L.) plants in a solution culture system. Rice root growth was more sensitive to bensulfuron than was shoot growth. A1 2.5 × 10^-9 M bensulfuron, plant height, number of leaves and number of roots were not significantly affected, while root growth was reduced, Seedlings treated 3 or 4 days after emergence showed a significant reduction of total root length by the second day after treatmeni. Root growth inhibition was proportional to duration of treatment; however, treatment for 2 days was necessary to affect root growth, Bensulfuron decreased the mitotic index and the mitotic height in root tips. At 5 days after treatment, only 0.7% of the cells were dividing and mitotic height was 68% of control     

Shoot zone uptake of soil-applied herbicides in some legume species

Localized placement of prometryne, linuron and diuron in the soil at the first or second shoot internodes of dwarf broad bean (Vicia faba L.) equally reduced aerial plant growth, whereas simazine and atrazine had no effect. Growth reduction also occurred when the first shoot internode of scarlet runner bean (Phaseolus multiflorus L.) in the soil was treated with all five herbicides, especially with diuron. Localized placement of these herbicides at the first or second shoot internodes of vetch (Vicia sativa L.) in the soil equally reduced aerial plant growth. Foliar injury to vetch due to placement of these herbicides in the shoot zone of the soil was markedly reduced by simultaneous treatment with trifluraiin or nitralin which prevented adventitious root development on the shoot without otherwise affecting plant growth. This lack of root development on the shoots treated with trifluraiin was associated with a marked decrease in ¹⁴C-labelled atrazine uptake, which probably accounted for the reduction in atrazine phytotoxicity. A similar explanation may account for the reduced phytotoxicity of the other herbicides in the presence of trifluraiin or nitralin.     

Phytotoxicity of trifluoromethyl- and methyl-substituted dinitroaniline herbicides on resistant and susceptible populations of black-grass (Alopecurus myosuroides)

A Petri-dish assay was used to determine the phytotoxicities of the dinitroaniline herbicides pendimethalin, trifluralin, benfluralin and ethalfluralin, and the methyl-substituted analogues of the last three herbicides, on susceptible (Rothamsted) and multiple-herbicide resistant (Peldon) populations of blackgrass Alopecurus myosuroides Huds. The Peldon population showed a high degree of resistance to pendimethalin, which possesses a 3,4-dimethyl substitution. The two populations were equally sensitive to trifluralin, benfluralin and ethalfluralin which do not possess ring-methyl groups but contain a 4-trifluoromethyl group. Substitution of the 4-trifluoromethyl with a methyl group, as demonstrated by the analogues, reduced phytotoxicity, but to a much greater degree in Peldon than in the Rothamsted population. The study indicates that resistance to pendimethalin in the Peldon population is attributable to an oxidative degradation of the 4-methyl group, analogous to that which occurs with resistance to chlorotoluron. The lack of cross-resistance to the other dinitroaniline herbicides appears to be due to the absence of ring-methyl or other groups which are vulnerable to oxidative degradation, trifluoromethyl groups being particularly resistant to this form of reaction.     

Interactions between soil-applied herbicides in the roots of some legume species

The effects on plant growth of applying trifluralin or nitralin combination with simazine, atrazine, prometryne and linuron to the upper 5-cm root region of vetch (Vicia sativa L.), pea (Pisum sativum L.) and soybean (Glycine max) were investigated. Foliar injury due to herbicides of the second group was markedly reduced in each species by simultaneous treatment with trifluralin or nitralin both of which inhibited lateral root growth without affecting aerial plant growth or tap root extension growth. This inhibition of lateral root growth in roots treated with trifluralin or nitralin was associated with reduced uptake and subsequent transport to the foliage of ¹⁴C-labelled simazine in vetch and pea and ¹⁴C-labelled atrazine in soybean. This probably accounted for the reduction in simazine and atrazine phytotoxicity. In the presence of trifluralin or nitralin comparatively higher amounts of radioactivity were retained in the roots of pea and soybean and this reduced the amount of ¹⁴C available for transport to the foliage. This was not evident in vetch.     

大麦发芽期耐盐性种质鉴定及其生理响应特征分析

为了解大麦发芽期耐盐性差异和生理响应特征,对126份大麦材料进行200 mmol·L~(-1)NaCl胁迫下的种子发芽及生长实验,并对极端耐盐性材料和盐敏感性材料进行盐胁迫处理水培实验。结果表明:盐胁迫下大麦发芽期各指标测量值较对照相比均下降,且处理与对照相比变异系数增大,发芽势、发芽率、株高、根长和根数的变异系数值分别为73.81%、58.00%、47.22%、39.39%和31.79%,说明不同材料盐胁迫处理具有较大差异;并且除株高和发芽率、根长之间无相关性之外,其它各指标之间均存在显著或极显著正相关。采用聚类分析将材料分为4个耐盐等级,其中ZDM655等33个品种为高度耐盐性,MAVRIIP等28个品种为中度耐盐性,GN241等16个品种为中度盐敏感性,莆田17号等49个品种为盐敏感性。在盐胁迫水培条件下,大麦主要通过调节根表面积和根体积表型特征来适应盐胁迫,高度耐盐性材料ZDM655地上部和根系中Na~+含量分别为对照的3.63倍和2.55倍,而盐敏感性材料ZDM222地上部和根系中Na~+含量分别为对照的8.95倍和2.92倍;同时,ZDM655较对照相比地上部K~+含量显著提高,地下部K~+含量显著下降,而ZDM222地上部K~+含量显著下降,地下部较对照无显著差异,表明高度耐盐性材料具有更好适应盐胁迫的表型特征和生理响应功能。种子发芽期耐盐性强弱是在盐渍地生长的关键,发芽势、发芽率、株高、根长、根数可以作为大麦发芽期耐盐性评价的合理指标。     

Tolerance of two Bifora radians Bieb populations to ALS inhibitors in winter wheat

BACKGROUND: Bifora radians, an annual weed in winter wheat, is distributed mainly in the Mediterranean area, Asia Minor and the Caucasus. It infests winter-sown crops of the Central Anatolia and Middle Black Sea regions of Turkey. Field experiments in heavily B. radians-infested fields were conducted over 3 years in Samsun, Turkey, to determine the response of B. radians to ALS-inhibiting herbicides, because growers had complained of a decrease in herbicide effect. RESULTS: The efficacy of ALS inhibitors on a putatively tolerant population sprayed annually with ALS inhibitors and an adjacent allegedly sensitive population was estimated at the ED₅₀ and ED₉₀ response levels. The recommended rates of herbicides controlled 90% of the weed (ED₉₀) in the sensitive population at the early stage of B. radians development, but not in the tolerant population. The relative potencies (ED_x(tolerant)/ED_x(sensitive)) of herbicides on the two populations were estimated by assuming years as being random effects. The relative potency was on average about 1.7, irrespective of the ED_x levels. CONCLUSION: Although the relative potencies were not large, they were large enough to be noted by growers. In field experiments it would be important to establish tools demonstrating when farmers recognise loss of herbicide efficacy. There has been no indication of evolution of resistant biotypes so far, but continuous spraying favours biotypes with increased levels of tolerance. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

UNTERSUCHUNGEN ÜBER AUFNAHME UND TRANSLOKATION VON 14C-MARKIERTEN HERBIZIDEN IN AGROSTEMMA GITHAGO L. UND TUSSILAGO FARFARA L.

Studies of the uptake and translocation of ¹⁴C-labelled 2, 4-D, MCPA and aminotriazole in Agrostemma githago L. and Tussilago farfara L. clarified the behaviour of the herbicides in both species. In A. githago, MCPA was more freely mobile than 2,4-D after application to the leaf; it was distributed in the plant more rapidly and in greater quantity. Similarly, following root uptake MCPA was transported in the shoot in greater amounts than was 2,4-D. There is a clear relationship between the susceptibility of A. githago to MCPA and the mobility of the herbicide in the plant. In T. farfara, 2,4-D and aminotriazole applied to the leaves were equally well absorbed and relatively rapidly translocated. During the period up to 72 h the amounts of herbicide in the plant increased to similar levels; after that, ¹⁴C activity in plants treated with 2,4-D fell slightly whereas there was further accumulation of aminotriazole. Following uptake through the roots, translocation and accumulation in the leaves were considerably greater with aminotriazole than with 2,4-D. The lack of accumulation of 2,4-D could be a factor in the resistance of T. farfara to this herbicidie. Recherches sur l'absorption et la migration d'herbicides marqués au ¹⁴ C dans Agrostemma githago L. et Tussilago farfara L.     

Mode of action,crop selectivity,and soil relations of the sulfonylurea herbicides

The sulfonylurea herbicides are characterized by broad-spectrum weed control at very low use rates (c. 2–75 g ha^?1), good crop selectivity, and very low acute and chronic animal toxicity. This class of herbicides acts through inhibition of acetolactate synthase (EC 4.1.3.18; also known as acetohydroxyacid synthase), thereby blocking the biosynthesis of the branched-chain amino acids valine, leucine and isoleucine. This inhibition leads to the rapid cessation of plant cell division and growth. Crop-selective sulfonylurea herbicides have been commercialized for use in wheat, barley, rice, corn, soybeans and oilseed rape, with additional crop-selective compounds in cotton, potatoes, and sugarbeet having been noted. Crop selectivity results from rapid metabolic inactivation of the herbicide in the tolerant crop. Under growth-room conditions, metabolic half-lives in tolerant crop plants range from 1–5 h, while sensitive plant species metabolize these herbicides much more slowly, with half-lives > 20 h. Pathways by which sulfonylurea herbicides are inactivated among these plants include aryl and aliphatic hydroxylation followed by glucose conjugation, sulfonylurea bridge hydrolysis and sulfonamide bond cleavage, oxidative O-demethylation and direct conjugation with (homo)glutathione. Sulfonylurea herbicides degrade in soil through a combination of bridge hydrolysis and microbial degradation. Hydrolysis is significantly faster under acidic (pH 5) than alkaline (pH 8) conditions, allowing the use of soil pH as a predictor of soil residual activity. Chemical and microbial processes combine to give typical field dissipation half-lives of 1–6 weeks, depending on the soil type, location and compound. Very short residual sulfonylurea herbicides with enhanced susceptibility to hydrolysis (DPX-L5300) and microbial degradation (thifensulfuron-methyl) have been developed.     

Mitotic disruption by a novel pyrimidine herbicide, NS-245852, in oat (Avena sativa L.) roots

The effects of a novel pyrimidine herbicide, NS-245852 [2-chloro-6-fluorophenyl-4-(trifluoromethyl)thieno[2,3-d]pyrimidine-2-yl-ketone], on mitosis in oat ( Avena sativa L. cv. Zenshin) root tips were investigated by using light and immunofluorescence microscopy. The root growth was strongly inhibited at 10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹ of NS-245852, and swollen root tips were induced at 5 × 10⁻⁸ mol L⁻¹. As observed by the use of light microscopy, the herbicide produced disrupted mitosis and large polynucleate cells in the meristematic root tissue. These symptoms were similar to those of mitotic disrupter herbicides. The immunofluorescence microscopy studies of the root tip cells treated for 30 min revealed that spindle fibers and the preprophase band were reduced, although kinetochore fibers and the phragmoplast were not affected. Kinetochore fibers remained as small fluorescence spots, and the phragmoplast disappeared after a 3 h treatment. No microtubule arrays were observed by a longer treatment (longer than 3 h). Among the microtubule arrays, spindle fibers and the preprophase band were found to be the most sensitive to the herbicide, whereas kinetochore fibers were the most resistant. The phragmoplast was intermediate. Thus, the primary action of NS-245852 is the inhibition of polymerization of tubulin into microtubules.     

Using chlorophyll fluorescence induction for a quantitative detoxification assay with metribuzin and chlorotoluron in excised wheat (Triticum aestivum and Triticum durum) leaves

Chlorophyll fluorescence induction was used as a probe to detect herbicide detoxification in tolerant or susceptible wheat cultivars. Experimental conditions have been carefully examined for establishing detoxification kinetics of chlorotoluron and metribuzin, two photosystem-II-inhibiting herbicides. After a root treatment, leaves were cut, placed in glass tubes and maintained in the dark. The fluorescence induction rise was examined repeatedly and detoxification kinetics were established from these data for the same position on the individual leaves. The herbicide-dependent fluorescence rise decreased within hours in chlorotoluron-tolerant but not in susceptible Triticum aestivum cultivars. In contrast, no significant reversion could be detected after metribuzin application in both tolerant and susceptible cultivars of Triticum durum. Near the fluorescence-determined half-inhibition of photosystem II, linear detoxification kinetics were obtained in individual leaves, thus providing an accurate measurement of relative detoxification rates.     

Dinitroaniline Herbicide Cross-Resistance in Resistant Setaria italica Lines Selected from Interspecific Cross with S. viridis

Breeding of herbicide-resistant foxtail millet (Setaria italica (L.) Beauv.) is desirable in modern agriculture because no selective herbicide is available for this crop. Trifluralin-resistant millet lines obtained from a interspecific cross between a resistant green foxtail (Setaria viridis (L.) Beauv.) and a foxtail millet cultivar were tested for response to five dinitroaniline herbicides in greenhouse and field experiments. The results in the greenhouse study showed that the resistant type was cross-resistant to all tested herbicides. ED₅₀ values indicated that the highest resistance was obtained with trifluralin, the resistant biotype being seven and 33 times more resistant than the parent cultivar at the emergence and seedling stages, respectively. However, the doses recommended for efficient weed control resulted in some detrimental effects on emergence and growth in the field. Strategies for use of this resistance to control weeds in millet fields are proposed. © 1997 SCI.     

Distribution and degradation of dinitroaniline herbicides in an aquatic ecosystem

The accumulation potential of six, structurally related, dinitroaniline herbicides was investigated in an aquatic ecosystem. The herbicides investigated were trifluralin (α,α,α-trifluoro-2,6-dinitro-N,N-dipropyl-p-toluidine), profluralin [N-(cyclopropylmethyl)-α,α,α-trifluoro-2,6-dinitro-N-propyl-p-toluidine], dinitramine [N³,N³-diethyl-2,4-dinitro-6-(trifluoromethyl)-m-phenylenediamine], chlornidine [N,N-bis(2-chloroethyl)-2,6-dinitro-p-toluidine], fluchloralin [N-(2-chloroethyl)-2,6-dinitro-N-propyl-4-(trifluoromethyl)aniline], and butralin [4-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-N-(1-methylpropyl)-2,6-dinitrobenzenamine]. The herbicide (0.1 mg) plus 1 μCi of ¹⁴C-labeled herbicide was adsorbed on 100 g of soil (1 ppm), added to individual aquariums, and flooded with 4 liters of water. Algae, snails, and daphnia were added, and ¹⁴C in water was monitored for 30 days. Fish were added on Day 30, and all components were harvested 3 days later. Bioaccumulation ratios (concentration in organism/concentration in water) for fish depended on the amount of their exposure to sunlight: Aquariums held in the dark had higher ratios for fish (235–755) than did those exposed to sunlight (32–83). Bioaccumulation ratios in the dark for fish based on ¹⁴C from bound soil residues of butralin and profluralin were 76 and 119, respectively. Direct repeated applications of profluralin (without soil) at 4-day intervals resulted in a rapid increase, then a decrease in bioaccumulation ratios for Gambusia, but a continuous increase for catfish.     

Determination of genotoxic effects of chlorfenvinphos and fenbuconazole in Allium cepa root cells by mitotic activity, chromosome aberration, DNA content, and comet assay

Genotoxic effects of Chlorfenvinphos and fenbuconazole were examined by using mitotic index, mitotic phase, chromosomal abnormalities, 2C DNA content and Comet assay on the root meristem cells of Allium cepa. The roots were treated with 10, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 ppm concentrations for 24 and 48 h. The results indicated that Chlorfenvinphos and fenbuconazole significantly decreased the mitotic index in all treatments when compared with their controls. The percentages of mitotic phases have changed. Chlorfenvinphos and fenbuconazole significantly increased the abnormal cell frequency at all concentrations and treatment periods when compared with their controls. Different abnormal mitotic figures were observed in all mitotic phases. Among these abnormalities were stickiness, anaphase bridges, c-mitosis, laggards, and micronucleus. These pesticides remarkably depressed the 2C DNA content in the root meristems of A. cepa. The genotoxicity of chlorfenvinphos and fenbuconazole in A. cepa root cells was analyzed using comet assay, which allows the detection of single strand breaks. In all concentrations, chlorfenvinphos and fenbuconazole induced a significant increase in DNA damage. Additionally, it was also researched to determine if there is a relation between the amount of DNA and the DNA damage and a regression analyses was conducted. When the data that was accumulated via comet analysis from A. cepa root tip cells that are treated with type chlorfenvinphos and fenbuconazole, was compared to the data that was acquired as the result of the measurement of 2C DNA amount, a relation with negative correlation was found, (respectively, r = −0.80 and r = −0.82). This relation factor is statistically important and strong (p < 0.05).