In the testing grounds of the Tobacco and Tobacco Products Institute in Plovdiv, near the village of Markovo, in humus-carbonate soil, a field experiment was set up to determine the biological effectiveness and selectivity of some soil herbicides used in growing oriental tobacco plants of the Plovdiv 7 variety. One of them was the Goal 2E herbicide with active ingredient oxyfluorfen 24%.
Oxyfluorfen was applied at the dose of 24 g/dka, 72 hours prior to tobacco planting. During the vegetation period, some visible signs of phytotoxicity in the crop were observed - plant growth inhibition, leaf and vegetation tip deformation, weak chlorosis, etc.
For the purpose of determining the impact of the herbicide on tobacco leaf anatomy, samples from the midsection of the leaves were taken. The parameters taken into consideration were stomata number/mm² and stomata size (μm) from the upper and lower epidermis, and size of the assimilation parenchyma (mesophyll) of the leaf. It was established that oxyfluorfen caused considerable changes in the tobacco leaf anatomy, which found expression in reduction of stomata number/mm², as well as reduction of the thickness of leaf lamina (blade), compared to those in the non-treated control plants.