Chemistry of sulfonylurea herbicides

The discovery of the sulfonylurea class of herbicides is one of the most dramatic breakthroughs in herbicide research in several decades. Sulfonylureas possess unprecedented levels of herbicidal activity–as low as 1 g ha^?1–very low mammalian toxicity, and very desirable environmental properties. This review will discuss the structure-activity relationships of sulfonylureas, their physical and chemical properties, and their methods of synthesis.