An allelopathic compound from festuca spp. as a lead molecule for development of pre-emergent herbicides for weed management

There is a great need for the development of herbicides with novel modes of action, due to increasing evolution of herbicide resistance in common weed species and the lack new modes of action in commercial herbicides introduced in recent years.1-3 Certain cultivars of fine leaved fescue (Festuca spp.) grasses are known to interfere with the growth of other plants by exudation of a phytotoxic non-protein amino acid, m-tyrosine, into the rhizosphere.4,5 However, m-tyrosine is highly susceptible to microbial degradation and so is potentially unsuited for use as a commercial soil-applied pre-emergence herbicide. We have synthesised several analogues based on the bioactive architecture of this natural product, with improved herbicidal activity and will evaluate extended environmental half-life, and investigate potential mode(s) of action.