Determining the Value of Edible Oils as Herbicides Determining the Value of Edible Oils as Herbicides Mike Chen. Dr. Mark Campbell , Faculty Mentor, 2000. Oils have gained commercial use as weed killers around 1940. They act on contact and may be used either as selective or nonselective herbicides.
Most oils used as herbicides are by-products of petroleum.
For our experiment we will try to determine if normal vegetable oil could be used as a herbicides in place of petroleum-based oils. If successful, vegetable oils could replace petroleum oil which would be an environmentally friendlier alternative. For our experiment we will test the effects of vegetable oil on normal crops such as corn and peas. We will grow the crops for three weeks and then cover them thoroughly with vegetable oil. Our hypothesis is that the vegetable oil will cause substantial harm to the crops.