Abstract
A number of α-alkoxyphenylacetic acid derivatives were synthesized and their fungicidal activities were examined. Studies of structure-activity relationships revealed strong fungicidal activity when the substituent at the α-position was a methoxy group and a substituted phenoxymethyl group was introduced to the 2-position of the benzene ring of the phenylacetic acid moiety. When a substituted phenoxy group was introduced to this position, the fungicidal activity was very weak. It was also shown that N-methyl-phenylacetamide derivatives had stronger activities than phenylacetic acid methyl ester derivatives. Among the compounds synthesized in this study, 2-[2-(2, 5-dimethylphenoxymethyl) phenyl]-2-methyl-N-methylacetamide (35) showed the most potent fungicidal activity against a wide range of crop diseases.
