Oral: Acute oral LD50 for rats >10 250, mice >5000 mg/kg.
Skin and eye: Acute percutaneous LD50 for rabbits >4000 mg/kg. Not a skin sensitiser.
Inhalation: LC50 (4 h) for rats >7.4 mg/l.

Used post-emergence to control broad-leaved weeds, including Amaranthus retroflexus, in beet crops, in particular sugar beet. Usually sprayed in combination with phenmedipham and ethofumesate. Desmedipham acts through the leaves only, and does not depend on soil type and humidity under normal growing conditions. Due to its wide safety margin to the crop, spraying is merely timed according to the development stage of the weeds, with optimum weed control when they are at the cotyledon stage.

2000KG