Plant protection agents for control of fungi

Abstract: Derivatives of 3′-isopropylbenzanilide represented by the following general formula: wherein R stands for a trifluoromethyl or nitro group. These compounds are of remarkable utility when used in various plant protection agents for control of fungi.

Description: The present invention relates generally to the novel use of a plant protection agent or composition for control of fungi, and particularly to the use of such a composition containing a derivative of 3'-isopropylbenzanilide represented by the following formula (I): Plant protection effects of benzanilide base compounds and their functions as fungicides have been disclosed, for example, in the specification of British Patent No. 1,217,868. The invention disclosed in this prior publication is directed to a plant protection agent for control of fungi, characterized by containing, as an effective component, benzanilide or a derivative thereof represented by the general formula (A) set forth below: The compound provided by the present invention is also represented by the general formula (A) wherein R₁ is a trifluoromethyl group, Y n is a hydrogen atom, X is an oxygen atom, and R₂ is -NR₃R₄ where R₃ stands for a hydrogen atom and R₄ stands for a m-isopropylphenyl group. Such a compound is neither specifically disclosed nor suggested in the specification of the British Patent referred to above. JP-A-3001048 (Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 31048/1980) also relates to plant protection agents for control of fungi containing the compound represented by the general formula: wherein X stands for a lower alkyl group, a trifluoromethyl group or a halogen atom, R stands for a hydrogen atom, a formyl group or an acetyl group and R' stands for a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group or an alkoxy group. However, the compound used in this invention is not disclosed concretely in the above patent publication. EP-A-0 282 266 describes the production of the compound of this invention, but, in the specification, there is no description concerning the application for control of fungi using this compound. On the other hand, plant protection and fungicidal effects of 3'-isopropylbenzanilide base compounds are disclosed in JP-A-49089955 (Japanese Patent Publication No. 12973/1978). The invention described in this publication relates to plant protection agents for control of fungi containing 3'-isopropylbenzanilide represented by the general formula (B): wherein R stands for an alkyl group. However, the plant protection and fungicidal effects of these known benzanilide base compounds are not always satisfactory, and there is thus a need to develop a further improved plant protection agent for control of fungi. The object of this invention is to provide the use of a compound exhibiting improved fungicidal effects over the known benzanilide base compounds as aforementioned. Through studies on derivatives of 3-isopropylbenzanilide, we have found that the compound represented by the general formula (I) set forth above exhibit superior preventive effects against various fungi which may cause plant diseases. In detail, the compound exhibits superior inhibition or killing effects, for example, for Rhizoctonia solani which poses problems in rice plant cultivation, Puccinia striiformis of wheats and various other rusts appearing on vegetables and ornamental plants. The compound used in this invention may be prepared by reacting carboxylic acid chlorides represented by the following formula (II): with 3-isopropylaniline in the presence of a hydrogen halide stripper. Alternatively, the compound used in this invention may be prepared by reacting carboxylic acids represented by the following formula (III): with 3-isopropylaniline in the presence of a dehydrating agent. The compound is applied as an effective fungicide component not only by treating the cultivated plants directly with it but also by admixing it with solid carriers, liquid carriers, surface active agents or other formulation aids commonly used in agricultural chemicals. More particularly, similar to ordinary agricultural chemicals, it is usually formulated in the form of emulsions, wettable powders, granules, powders or liquid formulations. Solid carriers used in formulating the compound into suitable solid formulations include talc, clay, kaolin, white carbon and bentonite of fine powder or granulated form. Usable liquid carriers include aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene, xylene, and methyl naphthalene, alcohols such as propanol, ethylene glycol and cellosolve, ketones such as acetone and isophorone, vegetable oils such as soybean oil and cotton seed oil, dimethylformamide, dimethylsulfoxide, acetonitrile and water. Surface active agents used for emulsification or dispersification are anionic surfactants such as alkyl sulfuric acid esters, alkyl sulfonates and polyoxyethylene-alkylarylether phosphate esters; and non-ionic surfactants such as polyoxyethylene polyoxypropylene block copolymers and polyoxyethylene-sorbitan carboxylate esters. Other formulation aids which may be used to prepare a plant protection agent are lignin sulfonates, alginates, polyvinylalcohol, CMC and PAP. When the compound used in this invention is used as a plant protection agent, it may be contained in a proper formulation, such as emulsion, wettable powder, granule, powder or liquid form, and dispensed in an amount of from 1 gram to 1000 grams, preferably from 5 grams to 100 grams, per 10 ares based on the dispensed quantity of effective component(s). The compound used in this invention may also be mixed with other fungicides or insecticides with the aim of reducing the work of application or to obtain a mixture capable of exterminating various species of harmful fungi or insects which cause plant diseases. EXAMPLE : A synthesis example of the compound used in this invention will now described below. Synthesis Example : Preparation of 3'-isopropyl-2-trifluoromethylbenzanilide (Compound No. 1) One gram of 3-isopropylaniline and 0.8 gram of triethylamine were dissolved in 50 ml of THF, cooled to 0 o C and agitated. A solution prepared by dissolving 1.54 grams of 2-trifluoromethylbenzoyl chloride in 20 ml of THF were dropwisely added. After agitating for 30 minutes, the reaction mixture was filtered and THF in the filtrate was distilled off under reduced pressure. The residue was extracted by benzene, and rinsed with 3N-HCl, a saturated sodium bicarbonate solution and water successively in this order. The benzene layer was dried by adding anhydrous magnesium sulfate and then benzene was distilled off under reduced pressure to obtain the desired product. The yield was 1.98 grams (87%), and the product had a melting point of 87.5 to 88.5 o C and an IR absorption peak at 1655 cm⁻¹ (c = 0). Some formulation examples will now be described. In the following Formulation Examples, the compound used in this invention is compound number 1, and parts stand for "parts by weight" throughout all Examples. Formulation Example 1 : Emulsion Twenty parts of Compound No. 1 were dissolved in 73 parts of xylol, and added with 3 parts of polyoxyethylene alkyl ether, 3 parts of alkylbenzene sulfonate and 1 part of polyoxyethylenesorbitan alkylate, the latter three serving as emulsifiers, followed by sufficient mixing and stirring to obtain an emulsion. Formulation Example 2 : Wettable Powder To 40 parts of the Compound No. 1 were added 3 parts of white carbon, 50 parts of clay and additionally 3 parts of polyoxyethylene alkylaryl sulfonate and 4 parts of lignin sulfonate, the latter two being added as dispersion aids, and the whole mass was intimately mixed together followed by pulverization to prepare a wettable powder. Formulation Example 3 : Powder To 3 parts of Compound No. 1 were added 0.5 part of white carbon and 2.5 parts of clay, followed by mixing and pulverization. The pulverized product was then added to 94 parts of clay, and the whole mass was mixed intimately to obtain a powder. Some Test Examples will now be set out below to verify that the compound used in the invention is utilizable as effective component in plant protection agents for control of fungi. Test Example 1 : Rice Sheath Blight A formulated compound, formulated generally following the procedure as described in Formulation Example 2 to have a predetermined concentration, was spread in 9 cm diameter pots in which rice plants (Variety: KOSHIHIKARI) were cultivated to 5-leaf stage, the dose amount being 100 cc per 3 pots. After the lapse of one day from the spreading of the formulation, each third leaf sheath of the respective rice plants was inoculated with Rhizoctonia solani which had been cultivated on PDA cultivation medium, and then the pots were allowed to stand in a humidified chamber maintained at 25 o C. After the lapse of 10 days, the length of the lesion formed on each leaf was measured, and the preventive value was calculated from the following equation. Preventive Value (%) = (l - Length of Lesion, Treated Leaf Sheath/Length of Lesion, Untreated Leaf Sheath) x 100 Test Example 2 : Rice Sheath Blight Rice plants (Variety: KOSHIHIKARI) were cultivated in a 1 m² concrete frame in the open air, and a formulation of a compound of this invention was sprayed by a hand-operated sprayer on the leaves of the cultivated rice plants at the panicle formation stage at a dose amount of 150 liters per 10 ares, the formulation being prepared generally following Formulation Example 2 to have a predetermined concentration. After one day from application of the compound of this invention, inoculum of rice straw medium was placed at the base of each rice hill. After cultivating for 25 days, the heights of the lesions of the respective rice plants were evaluated, and the preventive value was calculated from the following equation. Preventive Value (%) = (l - Height of Lesion, Treated Leaf Sheath / Height of lesion, Untreated Leaf Sheath) x 100 Compound Concentration (ppm) Preventive Value 1 100 100 50 100 A 100 35 50 15 Note: Compound A stands for mepronil. Test Example 3 : Wheat Brown Rust A formulated compound 1 having a predetermined concentration and prepared generally following the procedure as described in Formulation Example 2 was applied to a wheat variety (Variety: NORIN # 61) grown in a 9 cm diameter pot, application being done by spray gan and the dose amount being 100 cc per 3 pots. Uredospore of Puccinia recondita were inoculated, and the pot was placed to stand in a humidified chamber for about 20 hours and then transferred to a green house, where it was kept for an additional 10 days. The number of lesions on each of the leaves was evaluated, and the preventive value was calculated from the following equation. Preventive Value (%) = (l - Number of Lesion, Treated Leaf/Number of Lesion, Untreated Leaf) x 100 Test Example 4 : Wheat Brown Rust Compound 1 formulated generally following the procedure as described in Formulation Example 2 to have a predetermined concentration was applied to wheat plants (Variety: NORIN # 61) grown in a field using a power style sprayer at a dose amount of 200 liters per 10 ares. Then, wheat plants with uredospore pustules were placed at each corner of the field immediately after foliar spray application of the fungicide candidates had been completed. After the lapse of 30 days from the foliar spray application, 20 wheat plants were randomly selected from each plot and their disease degrees were observed. The disease degrees of three higher rank leaves were evaluated with the standard of examination set as shown in the following Table, and the disease severity was calculated from the equation set forth below the Table. Disease Degrees Number of Uredosori per Leaf 0 0 1 1 to 5 2 6 to 12 3 13 to 25 4 26 to 50 5 51 to 100 6 above 101 Disease Severity = (0x a + 1x b + 2x c --- + 6x g )/6x y ; wherein a , b , c --- g each indicates the number of leaves having, respectively, the disease degrees of 0, 1, 2 --- 6; and y indicates the total number of examined leaves (namely, y = a + b + c + --- + g ). Compound Concentration (Density) Disease Severity 1 2000 0.00 A 1500 1.70 Untreated - 4.20 Note: The compound A in the Table was mepronil. As will be seen from Test Examples, compound 1 exhibits superior preventive effects against various rusts, such as rice sheath blight or rusts of wheats, vegetables and ornamental plants.

Claims: Use of the compound of formula I as plant protective fungicide.

Inventors: TABATA HIROSHI, TOYODA SHIGEAKI, WATANABE SHUNNOSUKE, TABATA, HIROSHI, TOYODA, SHIGEAKI, WATANABE, SHUNNOSUKE
Applicants: AGRO KANESHO CO LTD, AGRO-KANESHO CO., LTD.
Application year: 1988
Main classification: C07C233
IPC codes: A01N37, C07C233