Nicosulfuron is a kind of herbicides belonging to the sulfonylurea family. It is a broad-spectrum herbicide that can controls many kinds of maize weeds including both annual weeds and perennial weed including Johnsongrass, quackgrass, foxtails, shattercane, panicums, barnyardgrass, sandbur, pigweed and morningglory. It is a systemic selective herbicide, being effective in killing plants near the maize. This selectivity is achieved through maize’s capability of metabolizing Nicosulfuron into harmless compound. Its mechanism of action is through inhibiting the enzyme acetolactate synthase (ALS) of the weeds, blocking the synthesis of amino acids such as valine and isoleucine, and finally inhibiting the protein synthesis and causing death of weeds.
