2-(2-imidazolin-2-yl)-pyridines and quinolines, process and intermediates for the preparation thereof, and use of said compounds as herbicidal agents

Claim 1

A compound having the structure: ##STR280## wherein R 1 is C 1 -C 4 alkyl; R 2 is C 1 -C 4 alkyl or C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl; and when R 1 and R 2 are taken together with the carbon to which they are attached they may represent C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl optionally substituted with methyl; R 3 is hydrogen, ##STR281## C 1 -C 12 alkyl optionally substituted with one of of the following groups: C 1 -C 3 alkoxy, halogen, hydroxyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, benzyloxy, furyl, phenyl, halophenyl, loweralkylphenyl, loweralkoxyphenyl, nitrophenyl, carboxyl, loweralkoxycarbonyl, cyano or triloweralkylammonium halide; C 3 -C 12 alkenyl optionally substituted with one of the following groups: C 1 -C 3 alkoxy, phenyl, halogen or loweralkoxycarbonyl or with two C 1 -C 3 alkoxy groups or two halogen groups; C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl optionally substituted with one or two C 1 -C 3 alkyl groups; C 3 -C 16 alkynyl; or, A cation; X is hydrogen, halogen, hydroxyl or methyl, with the proviso that when Y and Z are taken together to form a ring and YZ is represented by the structure: --(CH 2 ) n --, where n is 3 or 4, X is hydrogen; Y and Z are each hydrogen, halogen, C 1 -C 6 alkyl, hydroxyloweralkyl, C 1 -C 6 alkoxy, C 1 -C 4 alkylthio, phenoxy, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, nitro, cyano, C 1 -C 4 alkylamino, diloweralkylamino or C 1 -C 4 alkylsulfonyl group, or phenyl optionally substituted with one C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 alkoxy or halogen; and, when taken together, Y and Z may form a ring in which YZ are represented by the structure: --(CH 2 ) n --, where n is an integer of 3 or 4, provided that X is hydrogen; or ##STR282## where L, M, Q and R 7 are each hydrogen, halogen, C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 alkoxy, C 1 -C 4 alkylthio, C 1 -C 4 alkylsulfonyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, NO 2 , CN, phenyl, phenoxy, amino, C 1 -C 4 alkylamino, diloweralkylamino, chlorophenyl, methylphenyl, or phenoxy substituted with one Cl, CF 3 , NO 2 or CH 3 group, with the proviso that only one of L, M, Q or R 7 may represent a substituent other than hydrogen, halogen, C 1 -C 4 alkyl or C 1 -C 4 alkoxy; and the N-oxides thereof provided that in the N-oxidase Y and Z cannot be aklkylamino, dialkylamino or alkylthio; and when R 1 and R 2 represent different substituents, the optical isomers thereof.