the selected 5 - xanthogenato - 3 - trihalomethyl compounds of the present invention may be prepared by reacting the corresponding 5 - chloro - 3 - trihalomethyl - 1 , 2 , 4 - thiadiazole with the desired alkali metal ( lower alkyl ) xanthate salt . this general reaction is illustrated below in equation ( a ) by the reaction of 5 - chloro - 3 - trichloromethyl - 1 , 2 , 4 - thiadiazole with potassium ethyl xanthate . ## str3 ## suitable 5 - chloro - 3 - trihalomethyl - 1 , 2 , 4 - thiadiazole reactants for this type of reaction include 5 - chloro - 3 - trichloromethyl - 1 , 2 , 4 - thiadiazole and 5 - chloro - 3 - trifluoromethyl - 1 , 2 , 4 - thiadiazole . the former compound is described in the above - mentioned u . s . pat . no . 3 , 260 , 725 , and may be prepared by reacting trichloroacetamidine hydrochloride with trichloromethane sulfenyl chloride in the presence of a base . the latter compound is described in h . a . schroeder &# 39 ; s journal organic chemistry , 27 , 2589 ( 1962 ) and is prepared by the sidechain fluorination of 5 - chloro - 3 - trichloromethyl - 1 , 2 , 4 - thiadiazole with swart &# 39 ; s fluorination mixture consisting of antimony trifluoride , antimony trichloride and chlorine . suitable alkali metal ( lower alkyl ) xanthate reactants include above - mentioned potassium ethyl xanthate , potassium or sodium methyl xanthate , potassium or sodium propyl xanthate , and potassium or sodium isopropyl xanthate salts . potassium ethyl xanthate is commercially available . all of these noted xanthate salts are conveniently made from potassium or sodium hydroxide , carbon disulfide and appropriate alcohol . see rao , xanthates and related compounds , marcel dekker , inc ., new york , 1971 , for more detailed description of their preparation . any conventional reaction conditions may be employed in the synthesis of the present compounds and the present invention is not intended to be limited to any particular reaction conditions . advantageously and preferably , the reaction is carried out using approximately equal molar quantities of the two reactants in the presence of a suitable inert hydrocarbon solvent such as alcohols and the like . ethanol is a preferred solvent , but other inert solvents may be used . the reaction temperatures and time will both depend upon many reaction parameters including the exact reactants being employed , but in most situations , reaction temperatures from about 0 ° c . to about 130 ° c . and reaction times from about 1 hour to about 30 hours are preferred . the desired product may be recovered from the reaction mixture by any conventional means , for example , distillation or simply by cooling the reaction mixture and removing the precipitated product by filtration . finally , it should be noted that while the reaction illustrated by equation ( a ) is a preferred method of preparing compounds of the present invention , other synthesis methods may also be employed . in accordance with the present invention , it has been found that compounds of formula ( i ), above , may be used for defoliation or for desiccation of the green parts of plants . they are , in particular , suitable singly , or in mixtures thereof , for the control of weeds . as contemplated herein , the terms &# 34 ; weeds &# 34 ; is meant to include not only weeds in the narrow sense , but also in the broad sense , whereby to cover all plants and vegetation considered undesirable for the particular purposes in question . whether the active compounds according to the present invention act as total or selective herbicides depends essentially on the amount applied , as the artisan will appreciate . specifically , in practicing the process of the present invention , undesirable plant and vegetation are contacted with a herbicidally effective amount of the above - mentioned compounds . it is to be understood that the term &# 34 ; herbicidally effective amount &# 34 ; as used in the specification and claims herein is intended to include any amount that will kill or control said undesirable plants and vegetation when either employed by itself ( i . e ., in full concentration ) or in sufficient concentration with a carrier or other substance . of course , this amount may be constantly changing because of the possible variations in many parameters . some of these may include : the number and type of plants to be controlled or killed ; the type of loci or media to which the present compounds can be applied ( e . g ., weeds within crop areas , fence lines ); degree of effectiveness required ; and type of carrier , if any . the step of contacting may be accomplished by applying the present active compounds to the undesirable plants themselves or to the immediate locus or ground surrounding said plants . for most situations , the application of the compounds of the present invention in amounts from about 0 . 1 pound per acre to about 10 pounds per acre will be sufficient for selective or total herbicidal effect . the above - mentioned compounds of the present invention may be formulated and applied to any conventional methods that include using the compounds alone or with a carrier or other substances which may enhance the effectiveness of the chemical or facilitate handling . moreover , the activity of the present compounds may be broadened by the addition thereto of other known biocides . specific methods of formulating and applying these active compounds include applying them in the form of dusts , dust or emulsion concentrates , wettable powders , and concentrates , granulates , dispersions , sprays , solutions and the like . the dusts and dust concentrate are usually prepared by simply grinding together the active compounds of the present invention with a finely divided inert diluent such as walnut flour , diatomaceous earth , fuller &# 39 ; s earth , attaclay , talc or kaolin . dusts generally contain from about 1 % to about 15 % by weight of active compound and dust concentrates usually contain from about 16 % to about 75 % by weight active compound . in practice , dust concentrates are usually admixed with more inert diluent at the site of use to form dusts before being applied to undesirable plant foliage . wettable powders are generally prepared in the same manner as dust concentrates , but usually about 1 % to 10 % by weight of a dispersing agent , for example , an alkali metal lignosulfonate and about 1 % to 10 % of a surfactant , such as a non - ionic surfactant , are incorporated in the formulation . for most applications , the wettable powder is usually dispersed in water and applied as a spray . emulsifiable liquids may be prepared by dissolving the active compound in an organic solvent , such as xylene or acetone , and admixing the thus formed solution with a surfactant or an emulsifier . the emulsified liquid is then generally dispersed in water for spray application . it is possible to formulate granulates whereby these active compounds are dissolved in an organic solvent and the resulting solution is then applied to a granulated mineral or the like ( e . g ., bentonite , sio 2 , or the like ) followed by evaporating off the organic solvent . granulates can also be obtained by the compacting of the carrier material with the active substance and then reducing this compacted material in size . furthermore , the applied formulations of the present invention include other liquid preparations such as dispersions , sprays or solutions . for these purposes , one of the above - mentioned active compounds , of more than one active compound , is normally dissolved in a suitable organic solvent , solvent mixtures or water . as organic solvents , it is possible to use any suitable aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbon or their derivatives . it is preferred that the solvent be odorless and , moreover , be inert to the active compound . it should be clearly understood that such herbicide formulations , the ingredients which may make up such formulations other than the active compounds and the dosages , and means of applying these formulations may include all known and conventional substances , amounts and means , respectively , that are suitable for obtaining the desired herbicidal result . therefore , such process parameters are not critical to the present invention . besides the above - described herbicidal effect , compounds of the present invention have shown foliar fungicidal activity . the following examples further illustrate the present invention . all parts and percentages employed therein are by weight unless otherwise indicated . 8 . 5 grams ( 0 . 05 mole ) of potassium ethylxanthate and 12 grams ( 0 . 05 mole ) of 5 - chloro - 3 - trichloromethyl - 1 , 2 , 4 - thiadiazole were stirred in 300 milliliters of ethanol for 30 minutes at 35 ° c . the resulting white solids were filtered off and the filtrate evaporated under vacuum to give a yellow solid . recrystallization from ethyl ether gave two crops of product totaling 15 grams , melting point 84 °- 87 ° c . elemental and infra - red analyses confirmed the product to be 5 -( ethylxanthogenato )- 3 - trichloromethyl - 1 , 2 , 4 - thiadiazole . the active material made in example 1 was tested for activity as effective herbicides by the following method . a uniform aqueous dispersion of the chemical was made by dissolving the chemical in a solution of acetone containing a nonionic surfactant in a concentration of 500 ppm . the resulting solution was diluted with water ( 1 : 9 ) to obtain a mixture of 10 % acetone , 0 . 05 % surfactant , 0 . 208 % test candidate made by example 1 , and the balance water ; 50 milliliters of this solution applied to a flat of 144 square inches corresponds to 10 lb / acre . if further dilutions were required for testing at lower concentrations , water was added to this stock solution and the surfactant maintained at 50 ppm . the aqueous solutions containing each chemical were applied to flats seeded with representative monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants . the test chemical was applied to one such flat immediately after it was seeded ( pre - emergence screening ) and to the other flat after the first true plant leaves had developed ( post - emergence screening ). response was rated 12 to 21 days after treatment on a scale of 0 to 10 , where 0 represents no injury and 10 represents complete kill . tables i and ii , below , show the results of this testing . the crops and weeds used for the determination of activity were : foxtail millet ( setaria italica ), japanese millet ( echinochloa crusgalli ), crabgrass ( digitaria sanguinalis ), wild oats ( avena fatua ), morning glory ( ipomoea purpurea ), mustard ( brassica nigra ), pigweed ( amaranthus retroflexus ), sesbania ( sesbania exaltata ), velvet leaf ( abutilon theophrasti ), soybean ( glycine max ), cotton ( gossypium hirsutum ), and tomato ( lycopersicon esculentum ). table i__________________________________________________________________________general herbicide activity at 10 lbs ./ acre . sup . 1crops grasses broad - leaf weedssoy - foxtail japanese morning velvetbean cotton tomato millet millet crabgrass wild oats glory mustard pigweed sesbania leaf__________________________________________________________________________0 1 0 5 0 10 0 4 0 2 0 8 0 3 0 3 0 10 0 9 0 8 0 10__________________________________________________________________________ . sup . 1 the left side for each column shows preemergence results ; the righ side for each column shows postemergence results . table ii__________________________________________________________________________lower dosage post - emergence herbicide activity crops grasses broad - leaf weeds soy - foxtail japanese wild morning velvet bean cotton tomato millet millet crabgrass oats glory mustard pigweed sesbania leaf__________________________________________________________________________2 . 5 lb ./ acre 5 5 1 5 2 9 0 2 4 9 0 01 . 2 lb ./ acre 0 3 0 3 1 6 0 1 3 8 0 00 . 6 lb ./ acre 0 1 0 2 2 5 0 1 1 8 0 0__________________________________________________________________________
disclosed are selected 5 - xanthogenato - trihalomethyl - 1 , 2 , 4 - thiadiazole compounds of the formula : ## str1 ## wherein r 1 is a ccl 3 or cf 3 group and r 2 is a lower alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms . these compounds are shown to have post - emergence herbicidal activity .