Lactofen is a complex ester of acifluorfen

Acifluorfen

Acifluorfen is an herbicide. It is effective against broadleaf weeds and grasses and is used agriculturally on fields growing soybeans, peanuts, peas, and rice.-See also:* Lactofen, an ester derivative also used as an herbicide....

 and is a nitrophenyl ether selective herbicide

Herbicide

Herbicides, also commonly known as weedkillers, are pesticides used to kill unwanted plants. Selective herbicides kill specific targets while leaving the desired crop relatively unharmed. Some of these act by interfering with the growth of the weed and are often synthetic "imitations" of plant...

. It is used in postemergence applications to certain crops which are resistant to its action. The name "Lactofen" is approved by the American National Standards Institute

American National Standards Institute

The American National Standards Institute is a private non-profit organization that oversees the development of voluntary consensus standards for products, services, processes, systems, and personnel in the United States. The organization also coordinates U.S. standards with international...

 and the Weed Science Society of America, and is also approved in China (乳氟禾草灵). It has no ISO common name.

Lactofen is applied as a foliar spray and is commonly used to control broadleaved

Flowering plant

The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...

 weed

Weed

A weed in a general sense is a plant that is considered by the user of the term to be a nuisance, and normally applied to unwanted plants in human-controlled settings, especially farm fields and gardens, but also lawns, parks, woods, and other areas. More specifically, the term is often used to...

s in soybean

Soybean

The soybean or soya bean is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean which has numerous uses...

, cereal

Cereal

Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...

s, potato

Potato

The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...

es and peanut

Peanut

The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...

s. It may be combined with oil or fertilizer adjuvants and surfactants. Some formulations include solvents such as xylene

Xylene

Xylene encompasses three isomers of dimethylbenzene. The isomers are distinguished by the designations ortho- , meta- , and para- , which specify to which carbon atoms the two methyl groups are attached...

s and cumene

Cumene

Cumene is the common name for isopropylbenzene, an organic compound that is an aromatic hydrocarbon. It is a constituent of crude oil and refined fuels. It is a flammable colorless liquid that has a boiling point of 152 °C...

.

Lactofen is available in solid form or as an emulsifiable concentrate under the trade name COBRA.

Toxicology

Lactofen is slightly to non-toxic to humans when ingested or inhaled. It can cause skin irritation including reddening, swelling and possibly corrosive burns. It is a severe eye irritant and can cause permanent damage to eyes when there is sufficient exposure.

It was found to be practically non-toxic to the species of bird that were studied. Toxicity to fish and other aquatic organisms varied and it was eliminated in fish within fourteen days. It is of low toxicity to bees.

Lactofen has a very low solubility in water and is not expected to contaminate surface waters. It binds tightly to soil and is then broken down in between one and seven days.