It is used on corn (field, sweet, and popcorn), to control grassy and broadleaf weeds and nutsedge.

At 400 mg/kg/day, rat offspring development was affected, showing decreased fetal weights and increased incidences of misaligned sterebrae,[5] although no developmental effect at any dose is noted in rabbits.

[6] The EPA estimates human food exposure was under 0.3% of the permissible dose for all population subgroups, and so dietary risk of butylate is not a concern.

[6] Butylate has high volatility, with a vapor pressure of 170 mPa, so it may drift outside of target areas.

[5] Technical butylate is highly toxic to freshwater fish, and non-toxic to birds and mammals.