Screening in Crop Protection Research

Research on chemical antidotes or safeners has been summarized in several reviews and published symposia (3.-9). Most of the major developments (Table I) have resulted from impirical screening programs by Industry that may have been stimulated by observations of herbicide antagonism in plants (3, 10). However, some of the research on mode of action of antidotes has been directed at finding new ways to protect crop plants from herbicides (3). The research to be discussed in this text, namely the use of subtoxic herbicide pretreatments to improve crop tolerance to selected herbicides, arises in part from research on the mode of action of R-25788 as a selective antidote for EPIC or butylate in corn. 

---