paraquat
/ˈparəkwɒt
/ /ˈparəkwat/noun [mass noun]
A toxic fast-acting herbicide, which becomes deactivated in the soil.The Rochester team studied the effects of a mixture of two common agrochemicals, the herbicide paraquat and the fungicide maneb....
- To date, epidemiological and animal studies have linked some cases to high exposure to various pesticides, herbicides and fungicides, including paraquat and maneb.
- This is in considerable contrast to the large, technologized ‘zeroshade’ cacao plantations, which apply generous amounts of highly toxic herbicides, such as paraquat, and potent insecticides such as endosulfan.
Origin
1960s: from para-1 (sense 2) + quaternary (it is a quaternary ammonium salt containing pyridine rings linked at the para-position).