Chlorpropham or CIPC is a

plant growth regulator Plant hormone (or phytohormones) are signal molecules, produced within plants, that occur in extremely low concentrations. Plant hormones control all aspects of plant growth and development, from embryogenesis, the regulation of organ size, pa ...

and herbicide used as a sprout suppressant for grass weeds, alfalfa, lima and

snap beans Green beans are young, unripe fruits of various cultivars of the common bean (''Phaseolus vulgaris''), although immature or young pods of the runner bean ('' Phaseolus coccineus''), yardlong bean ( ''Vigna unguiculata'' subsp. ''sesquipedali ...

, blueberries,

cane fruit ''Rubus'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae, with over 1,350 species. Raspberries, blackberries, and dewberries are common, widely distributed members of the genus. Most of th ...

, carrots, cranberries, ladino

clover Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (from Latin ''tres'' 'three' + ''folium'' 'leaf'), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus h ...

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Welsh onion and Chinese onion. It is native to South Asia, Central Asia and northe ...

seed grass A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosperm ...

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the oni ...

spinach Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to central and western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common edible vegetable consumed eith ...

sugar beet A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and which is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet ('' Beta vulgaris''). Together ...

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word , ...

es,

safflower Safflower (''Carthamus tinctorius'') is a highly branched, herbaceous, thistle-like annual plant in the family Asteraceae. It is commercially cultivated for vegetable oil extracted from the seeds and was used by the early Spanish colonies a ...

soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu ...

s, gladioli and woody nursery stock. It is also used to inhibit

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Un ...

sprouting and for sucker control in

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ch ...

. Chlorpropham is available in emulsifiable concentrate and liquid formulations. Chlorpropham is approved for use as a plant regulator and herbicide only on potatoes in the United States. The use of CIPC was banned in the EU and UK in 2019 after it was not reauthorised for use due to toxicity concerns, with sales prohibited from January 2020.

Uses

When it is used as an anti-sprouting agent for potatoes, the formulation is based on HN formulation, Hot Fogging. Commercial names include Bud Nip, Taterpex, Preventol, Elbanil, Metoxon, Nexoval, Stickman Pistols, Preweed, Furloe, Stopgerme-S, Sprout Nip, Mirvale, Bygran, ChlorIPC, Spud-Nic, Spud-Nie, Chloro-IFK, Chloro-IPC, Keim-stop, Triherbicide CIPC, OORJA. For herbicide, an EC formulation is used so that it is dissolvable in water for spray in the field.

Toxicity

Chlorpropham displays a low level toxicity profile, with no signs of acute toxicity after exposure of less than 1000 mg/kg/day. Long term exposure at high doses (≥ 1000 mg/kg/day) could cause reduction of body weight gain, decrease in

hematocrit The hematocrit () (Ht or HCT), also known by several other names, is the volume percentage (vol%) of red blood cells (RBCs) in blood, measured as part of a blood test. The measurement depends on the number and size of red blood cells. It is nor ...

and

hemoglobin Hemoglobin (haemoglobin BrE) (from the Greek word αἷμα, ''haîma'' 'blood' + Latin ''globus'' 'ball, sphere' + ''-in'') (), abbreviated Hb or Hgb, is the iron-containing oxygen-transport metalloprotein present in red blood cells (erythrocyte ...

, and increase in blood

reticulocyte Reticulocytes are immature red blood cells (RBCs). In the process of erythropoiesis (red blood cell formation), reticulocytes develop and mature in the bone marrow and then circulate for about a day in the blood stream before developing into mat ...

s. Regarding the carcinogenic risk, chlorpropham is classified by the

EPA The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...

as group E (non-carcinogenic). One of its metabolites is 3-chloroaniline. The acceptable daily intake ranges from 0.03 mg/kg ( FAO 2001) to 0.05 mg/Kg (

1996 and EC 2003).

Stability

Chlorpropham is partially degraded in the environment under aerobic conditions (15% to 30% after 100 days) and partially hydrolysed in water solution (90% after 59 to 130 days). A study of the stability of chlorpropham in potatoes (estimated concentration of chlorpropham: 1.8 to 7.6 mg/kg at 10 days post-application) revealed that mean concentration of chlorpropham in the tuber decreased spontaneously by 24% and 42% at 28 days and 65 days postapplication respectively. The study also showed that peeling removed 91–98% and washing 33–47%. Residues of chlorpropham were detected in the boiled potatoes, in the boiling water, in the French-fried potatoes and in the frying oil. According to this study, the theoretical dose for a 20 kg infant eating 100g of crude-peeled tuber would be 0.00018 to 0.00342 mg/kg.

References

External links

US NIST Chemistry WebBook Entry

* * * * * *{{cite journal , doi=10.2136/sssaj1976.03615995004000050028x , title=decomposessition of Fungal Mycelia and Humic-type Polymers Containing Carbon-14 from Ring and Side-chain Labeled 2,4-D and Chlorpropham1 , year=1976 , last1=Wolf , first1=D. C. , last2=Martin , first2=J. P. , journal=Soil Science Society of America Journal , volume=40 , issue=5 , pages=700, bibcode=1976SSASJ..40..700W Herbicides Plant growth regulators Carbamates