SAFENING AGENT

1 .- 25 . (canceled)

26 . A composition comprising an auxin, an auxin precursor, an auxin metabolite or a derivative of said auxin, auxin precursor or auxin metabolite and acetaminophen or a derivative thereof for use as a plant safener.

27 . The composition according to claim 26 wherein the auxin is an indolic auxin or a phenolic auxin.

28 . The composition according to claim 26 wherein the auxin derivative is an acid, a conjugate, a salt, an ester, or an amide of the auxin, or an alkylated or halogenated auxin.

29 . The composition according to claim 28 wherein the auxin is conjugated to a sugar, an alcohol, an amino acid or a protein.

30 . The composition according to claim 26 wherein the precursor is chorismate, anthranilic acid, phosphoribosyl anthraniliate, 1-(O-carboxyphenulamino)-1-deoxyribulose-5-phosphate, indole-3-glycerol-phosphate, indole, indole-3-acetic acid, trytophan, tryptamine, N-hydroxy tryptamine, indole-3-acetaldoxime, 1-aci-nitro-2-indolylethane, indolic glucosinate, indole-3-acetonitrile (IAN), indole-3-acetaldehyde, indole-3-lactic acid, indole-3-pyruvic acid, or indole-3-ethanol.

31 . The composition according to claim 30 wherein the precursor is anthranilic acid or a derivative thereof; wherein the anthranilic acid derivative is preferably a conjugate, a salt, an ester, or an amide of anthranilic acid, optionally substituted with an alkyl or halogen group.

32 . The composition according to claim 31 wherein the anthranilic acid derivative is conjugated to a sugar, an alcohol, an amino acid, a peptide or a protein.

33 . The composition according to claim 26 wherein the auxin is a natural auxin selected from indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), 4-chloro-indole-3-acetic acid (4-Cl-IAA), phenylacetic acid (PAA), indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), indole-3-acetyl-1-O-β-D-glucose (IAAglc); or a synthetic auxin selected from 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), 2-methoxy-3,6-dichlorobenzoic acid (dicamba), 4-amino-3,5,6-trichloropicolinic acid (tordon), 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T), 2,3,6-trichlorobenzoic acid or N,N-dimethylethylthiocarbamate.

34 . The composition according to claim 33 wherein the conjugate of the natural auxin is IAA-Inositol, IAA-Inositol-arabinose, IAP1, an IAA-peptide, an IAA glycoprotein, an IAA-glucan, IAA-aspartate, IAA-glucose, IAA-1-O-glucose, IAA-myo-Inositol, IAA-4-O-glucose, IAA-6-O-glucose, IAA-Inositol-galactose, an IAA amide conjugate, or an IAA-amino acid conjugate.

35 . The composition according to claim 26 wherein the metabolite is indole-3-lactic acid or indole-3-ethanol.

36 . The composition according to claim 26 wherein the composition further comprises cobalt.

37 . The composition according to claim 26 wherein the composition further comprises a compound selected from:

a) glucose, hydrolysed starch, sucrose, fructose, glycerol, glyceraldehydes, erythrose, ribulose, xylulose or arabinose, monosaccharides including aldoses such as D-Ribose, D-Xylose, L-Arabinose, D-Glucose, D-Mannose and D-Galactose; ketoses such as D-Ribulose and D-Fructose; deoxyaldoses such as 2-Deoxy-D-ribose, L-Fuccose; acetylated amino sugars such as N-Acteyl-D-glucosamine and N-Acetyl-D-galactosamine; acidic monosaccharides such as D-Glucuronic acid, L-Iduronic acid and N-Acetylneuraminic acid, Sugar alcohols such as D-Sorbitol and D-Mannitol, disaccharides including maltose, lactose and sucrose, or an ester or glycoside or metabolic equivalent of such a carbohydrate;

b) an organic acid of the Krebs tricarboxylic acid cycle or a metabolic precursor thereof;

c) a vitamin or coenzyme, or a precursor thereof;

d) a purine or pyrimidine nucleoside, nucleotide or metabolic precursor thereof;

e) a naturally occurring fat or oil; or

f) an amino acid.

38 . The composition of claim 37 wherein the compound is selected from c) a vitamin or coenzyme, or a precursor thereof; d) a purine or pyrimidine nucleoside, nucleotide or metabolic precursor thereof; or f) an amino acid.

39 . The composition of claim 26 wherein the composition further comprises at least one of a fungicide, an insecticide, a herbicide, a chemical thinning agent, a fertiliser, a plant growth regulator and an abscission delay agent.

40 . A method of protecting a desired plant from the effect of an agrochemical comprising applying an effective amount of the composition of claim 26 .

41 . The method of claim 40 wherein the composition is applied by at least one of seed treatment, localised soil treatment, plant treatment, including seedling treatment.

42 . The method of claim 40 wherein the application of the composition is in advance of the application of the agrochemical.

43 . A method for improving plant safety comprising the application of the composition of claim 26 to a plant or its environs.

44 . The method of claim 40 wherein application of the composition further provides a boost in plant vigour.

45 . The method of claim 40 wherein the composition is applied at conditions of at least one of low or high pH, temperature, salinity or drought.