defoliants
Chemical leaf strippers
Defoliants are chemicals that cause plants to shed their leaves.
Military use—most notoriously Agent Orange in Vietnam—aimed to strip jungle cover from enemy positions.
Agricultural defoliants help harvest crops like cotton by removing leaves before picking.
The environmental and health consequences of wartime defoliant use remain controversial decades later.
Wartime defoliant chemical
- glyphosateBroad-spectrum systemic herbicide
- 2,4-DSynthetic auxin herbicide
- dioxinChlorinated aromatic toxin
- paraquatToxic methyl viologen herbicide
Wartime defoliant chemical
- Vietnam WarCold-era Indochina military engagement
- scorched earthDestroy all useful resources
- ecocideDeliberate devastation of nature
- jungle clearingOpen area in dense forest
chemical warfare · contamination · carcinogens · counterinsurgency · Ho Chi Minh Trail · Mekong Delta · birth defects · long-term effects
Toxins degrading ground quality
- groundwater pollutionSubsurface water made toxic
- ecosystem damageHarm to natural communities
- biodiversity lossReduction in species variety
- persistenceContinuing despite difficulty
bioaccumulation · runoff · residue · toxicity · remediation · cleanup · habitat destruction · food chain
Agent Orange
Wartime defoliant chemical
- glyphosateBroad-spectrum systemic herbicide
- 2,4-DSynthetic auxin herbicide
- dioxinChlorinated aromatic toxin
Agent Orange
Wartime defoliant chemical
- Vietnam WarCold-era Indochina military engagement
- scorched earthDestroy all useful resources
- ecocideDeliberate devastation of nature
jungle clearing · chemical warfare · contamination · carcinogens · counterinsurgency · Ho Chi Minh Trail · Mekong Delta · birth defects · long-term effects · war crimes
soil contamination
Toxins degrading ground quality
- groundwater pollutionSubsurface water made toxic
- ecosystem damageHarm to natural communities
- biodiversity lossReduction in species variety
persistence · bioaccumulation · runoff · residue · toxicity · remediation · cleanup · habitat destruction · food chain · environmental monitoring
leaf drop
Shedding of foliage
- aerial sprayingAirborne pest
- ginningProcessing raw cotton
- chemicalschemicals, compounds, acids, reagents, solutions
- weaponsknife, gun, sword, swords, rifle
- Vietnam WarVietnam War, Vietnam, Tet Offensive, My Lai Massacre, Viet Cong
- Agrochemicalsfertilizer, pesticides, pesticide, herbicides, herbicide
defoliantsfertilizers
Substances enriching soil
plant nutrients · plant food · auxins · compost · nitrogen fertilizers