1561 References Cited U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS 3,792,423 2/1974 Becker et al. ......................... 73/620 3,979,712 9/1976 Ettenhofer et al. . 4,028,934 6/1977 Sollish ................................... 73/620 4,327,576 5/1982 Dickey et al. ................... 73/40.5 A 4,640,121 2/1987 Leuker et al. ................... 73/40.5 A 4,641,526 2/1987 Izumi et al. ........................... 73/5...

4-Sulfenyl-2-carbamoyl-4-isoxazolin-3-ones (4) were designed on the basis of biological isosterism and prepared in four steps. Some of these compounds showed sufficient pre-emergent herbicidal activities against various kinds of weeds. Among the synthesized compounds, 2-(N-(4-chlorophenyl)-N-isopropylcarbamoyl)-4-ethylthio-5-methyl-4 -isoxazolin-3-one (4cd) exhibited the most promising activity.