How to Remedy Sulfometuron-Methyl Phytotoxicity? A Full Breakdown of Remedial Methods
Sulfometuron-methyl is a chemically synthesized organic compound with high toxicity. If phytotoxicity is accidentally caused, what remedies are there for sulfometuron-methyl phytotoxicity? Let us take a look together.
1. Remedies for sulfometuron-methyl phytotoxicity
If there has been mistaken application on crops, immediately use gibberellin, brassin and induced resistance agents in a mixed solution spray, which can have a relieving effect. If the damage has lasted too long and the crop leaves have turned yellow, the relieving effect will not be great, but there is still hope of regrowth. Sulfometuron-methyl breaks down and is relieved in the soil; when used at conventional doses, its efficacy can last 3 to 6 months. To control phytotoxicity after using sulfometuron-methyl in farmland, irrigate and soak for 5 to 10 days so the agent is lost with the water and the phytotoxicity degrades. After application, paddy fields that have undergone soaking treatment can be replanted with crops after 6 months. If phytotoxicity occurs severely, contact the technical department promptly.
2. The herbicidal principle of sulfometuron-methyl
Sulfometuron-methyl is a sulfonylurea-type, long-lasting non-selective herbicide, and its use on crops is strictly prohibited. Sulfometuron-methyl is very sensitive to monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous crops and has very strong killing ability. When plant stems and leaves contact the solution, the leaf surface becomes twisted and deformed, turns yellow, withers and dies; when young buds and tender stems and leaves contact the solution, they lose green and turn yellow and red, and the plant shrinks and becomes smaller; when roots contact the solution, lateral roots decrease, the main root becomes shorter, gradually turns into a black root, and then rots. Sulfometuron-methyl is suitable for use on barren hills and wasteland, forest firebreaks, highways and railways, and some coniferous nurseries, and for soil and stem-and-leaf treatment to control monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous weeds as well as shrub thickets.
After being rapidly absorbed through plant stems and leaves or roots, it is conducted within the organism by the xylem and phloem, inhibiting the synthesis of branched-chain amino acids, namely valine, isoleucine and leucine, preventing or disrupting cell division, causing plant growth to stagnate, stems and leaves to lose green, turn yellow and wither, and finally die.
Sulfometuron-methyl has a long duration of efficacy, and its phytotoxic effect is relatively high. It must be used with caution and care.