Acephate is an

organophosphate In organic chemistry, organophosphates (also known as phosphate esters, or OPEs) are a class of organophosphorus compounds with the general structure , a central phosphate molecule with alkyl or aromatic substituents. They can be considered ...

foliar and soil insecticide of moderate persistence with residual systemic activity of about 10–15 days at the recommended use rate. It is used primarily for control of aphids, including resistant species, in vegetables (e.g. potatoes, carrots, greenhouse tomatoes, and lettuce) and in horticulture (e.g. on

rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can b ...

s and

greenhouse A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic conditions are grown.These ...

ornamentals). It also controls

leaf miner A leaf miner is any one of numerous species of insects in which the larval stage lives in, and eats, the leaf tissue of plants. The vast majority of leaf-mining insects are moths ( Lepidoptera), sawflies (Symphyta, the mother clade of wasp ...

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larva, larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterfly, butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawfly ...

s, sawflies, thrips, and spider mites in the previously stated crops as well as turf, and

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

. By direct application to mounds, it is effective in destroying imported fire ants. Acephate is sold as a soluble powder, as emulsifiable concentrates, as pressurized aerosol, and in tree injection systems and granular formulations. As of 2012, the EPA no longer allows the usage of acephate on green beans grown in the United States.

Toxicology

It is considered non- phytotoxic on many crop plants. Acephate and its primary metabolite, methamidophos, are toxic to

Heliothis ''Heliothis'' is a genus of moths in the family Noctuidae. It was first described by Ferdinand Ochsenheimer in 1816. Some of the species have larvae which are agricultural pests on crop species such as tobacco, cotton, soybean and pigeon pea. S ...

spp. that are considered resistant to other organophosphate insecticides. Acephate emits toxic fumes of various

oxides An oxide () is a chemical compound that contains at least one oxygen atom and one other element in its chemical formula. "Oxide" itself is the dianion of oxygen, an O2– (molecular) ion. with oxygen in the oxidation state of −2. Most of the ...

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ea ...

nitrogen Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at seve ...

, and

sulfur Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formul ...

when heated to decomposition. Symptoms of exposure to acephate include a slight irritation of eyes and skin. The U.S. annually uses 4–5 million pounds of acephate. The author of one book states that acephate throws off the navigation systems of

white-throated sparrow The white-throated sparrow (''Zonotrichia albicollis'') is a passerine bird of the New World sparrow family Passerellidae. Etymology The genus name ''Zonotrichia'' is from Ancient Greek (, ) and (, ). The specific ''albicollis'' is from Lat ...

s and other songbirds, making them unable to tell north from south.Bridget Stutchbury (2007) ''Silence of the Songbirds'', Walker & Company,

References

* U.S. EPA Office of Pesticide Programs. * Extension Toxicology Network. Pesticide Information Profiles. * Cooperative Extension Offices of Cornell University, Oregon State University, the University of Idaho, and the University of California at Davis. * Institute for Environmental Toxicology, Michigan State University.

External links

Acephate General Fact Sheet - National Pesticide Information Center

* ttp://www.epa.gov/pesticides/reregistration/REDs/factsheets/acephate_fs.pdf EPA Acephate Reregistration Eligibility Decision*
Lepitect - Soil injected Pesticide for Ornamental Use
{{Acetylcholine metabolism and transport modulators Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors Pesticides Phosphoramidothioates Leaf miners