Synthesis, nematicidal evaluation, and SAR study of benzofuran derivatives containing 2-carbonyl thiophene

Plant-parasitic nematodes are major threat for crop protection. The lack of nematicides with new mode of action and increasing resistance raises the need for novel nematicides. In order to seek new nematicidal lead, originating from the structure of chalcone, a series of fused ring compounds was obtained by ring closure design strategy. These compounds were modified further. The nematicidal activity against M. incognita of synthesized compounds was evaluated. The bioassay showed that compound 3 and some of its derivatives such as compounds 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 26 exhibited excellent nematicidal activity. Among them, compound 23 exhibited significant bioactivity. The LC50/72 h value reached 3.20 mg/L in vitro and the inhibition rate was 100.00% at 40 mg/L in the matrix. The structure-activity relationship of synthesized compounds was discussed in details. The influence of compound 23 on egg hatching, motility, and feeding behavior of C. elegans was also evaluated.