Agent White is the code name for a

herbicide Herbicides (, ), also commonly known as weed killers, are substances used to control undesired plants, also known as weeds.EPA. February 201Pesticides Industry. Sales and Usage 2006 and 2007: Market Estimates. Summary in press releasMain page f ...

used by the U.S. military in its

herbicidal warfare Herbicidal warfare is the use of substances primarily designed to destroy the plant-based ecosystem of an area. Although herbicidal warfare use chemical substances, its main purpose is to disrupt agricultural food production and/or to destroy p ...

program during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. The name comes from the regulatory requirements of identifying each container of the various herbicides through the addition of colored stripes. The colors used were orange, purple, pink, blue, and white by the manufacturers to ensure that the contents were easily identifiable during shipment and usage, as the colors were selected by the U.S. government. Largely inspired by the British use of

herbicides Herbicides (, ), also commonly known as weed killers, are substances used to control undesired plants, also known as weeds.EPA. February 201Pesticides Industry. Sales and Usage 2006 and 2007: Market Estimates. Summary in press releasMain page f ...

and defoliants during the

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War, was a guerrilla warfare, guerrilla war fought in Federation of Malaya, Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Arm ...

, it was one of the so-called "

rainbow herbicides The Rainbow Herbicides are a group of tactical-use chemical weapons used by the United States military in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. Success with Project AGILE field tests in 1961 with herbicides in South Vietnam was inspired by the ...

". Agent White is a 4:1 mixture of 2,4-D and

picloram Picloram is a systemic herbicide used for general woody plant control. It also controls a wide range of broad-leaved weeds, but most grasses are resistant.

. Agent White did not contain dioxin, which was a contaminant in some herbicide mixtures. Agent White was a proprietary product of the

Dow Chemical The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. The company was among the three largest chemical producers in the world in 2021. It is the operating subsidiary of Dow Inc., ...

Company. Agent White was often used when Agent Orange was not available, including for several months after the use of Agent Orange was halted in April 1970. About of Agent White were used in Vietnam between 1966 and 1971. In addition, the US military tested Agent White, Tordon 101, and picloram in varying concentrations at test sites in the United States and Puerto Rico in the 1960s. Agent White was also tested at CFB Cold Lake in Alberta. Under the brand name Tordon 101,

Dow AgroSciences Dow AgroSciences Limited liability company, LLC was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Dow Chemical Company specializing in not only agricultural chemicals such as pesticides, but also seeds and biotechnology solutions. The company was based in ...

has commercialized a similar product containing a mixture of 2,4-D and picloram.

References

* * {{Rainbow Herbicides Military equipment of the Vietnam War Defoliants Auxinic herbicides