Ammonium nonanoate is a nonsystemic, broad-spectrum contact

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 ...

that has no soil activity. It can be used for the suppression and control of

weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, growing where it conflicts with human preferences, needs, or goals.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. Pla ...

s, including grasses, vines, underbrush, and annual/perennial plants, including moss, saplings, and tree suckers. Ammonium nonanoate is marketed as an aqueous solutions, at room temperature at its maximum concentration in water (40%). Solutions are colorless to pale yellow liquid with a slight fatty acid odor. It is stable in storage. Ammonium nonanoate exists as white crystals.Biopesticide Registration Action Document, Ammonium Nonanoate, US EPA, 2006 Ammonium nonanoate is made from

ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic chemical compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the chemical formula, formula . A Binary compounds of hydrogen, stable binary hydride and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinctive pu ...

and

nonanoic acid Pelargonic acid, also called nonanoic acid, is an organic compound with structural formula . It is a nine-carbon fatty acid. Nonanoic acid is a colorless oily liquid with an unpleasant, rancid odor. It is nearly insoluble in water, but very sol ...

, a

carboxylic acid In organic chemistry, a carboxylic acid is an organic acid that contains a carboxyl group () attached to an Substituent, R-group. The general formula of a carboxylic acid is often written as or , sometimes as with R referring to an organyl ...

widely distributed in nature, mainly as derivatives (

ester In chemistry, an ester is a compound derived from an acid (either organic or inorganic) in which the hydrogen atom (H) of at least one acidic hydroxyl group () of that acid is replaced by an organyl group (R). These compounds contain a distin ...

s) in such foods as apples, grapes, cheese, milk, rice, beans, oranges, and potatoes and in many other nonfood sources.

References

{{Ammonium salts Herbicides Ammonium compounds