Synthesis and herbicidal activity of N -(2,2-dimethyl-7-alkoxy-2,3-dihydrobenzofuran-5-yl)-2-(4-arylxoyphenoxy)propionamides

In order to find novel herbicidal active compounds, a series of N -(2,2-dimethyl-7-alkoxy-2,3-dihydro-benzofuran-5-yl)-2-(4-arylxoyphenoxy)propionamides was designed, prepared and evaluated for their herbicidal activity. Bioassay results showed that most of the title compounds had excellent and selective herbicidal activity against the monocotyledonous grasses. In particular, compounds 1 g and 1 m showed 100% inhibition against the growth of three monocotyledonous grasses under both postemergence and preemergence treatments at the dose of 2250 g/hm 2 (1 hm 2 =10 4 m 2 ), and could be used as lead compounds for further development of novel potential herbicidal agents.