In recent years, the fungicide market has grown rapidly. Among the newly launched products of the three categories of pesticides: fungicides, herbicides and insecticides, fungicides are clearly superior, with more products on the market, and several blockbuster products have been launched. Examples include BASF’s Triflufenac, Syngenta’s Triflufenazole, DuPont’s Flutrifen, Dow AgroSciences’ Inatreq, etc. Succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor (SDHI) fungicides have grown rapidly in a self-contained system and become a dark horse that attracts global attention.
Among the newly launched fungicides, there are not only compounds with completely new structures, but also new products with completely new mechanisms of action. This is obviously beyond the reach of herbicides that have not had new action mechanism compounds on the market for more than 20 years. New structures, new mechanisms of action, and market-competitive blockbuster products have become important engines for the growth of the fungicide market.
Agrichemical companies have a special liking for SDHI fungicides
Metrifenac, boscalid, benzofenfenconazole, bifenzofen, fluorine Triclofenac ranks among the top five, accounting for 80.2% of the SDHI fungicide market.
In recent years, the fungicide market has grown rapidly. In the pesticide sales performance of the world's leading multinational companies such as Syngenta, Bayer and BASF, fungicides occupy the most dominant position. Especially BASF. In 2015, the company's fungicides accounted for 45.2% of its pesticide sales, which has obvious advantages over herbicides and insecticides.
Among various types of fungicides, companies have a special preference for SDHI fungicides. Among the top 20 pesticides by global sales, SDHI fungicides have the fastest growth, which may explain this phenomenon. In 2015, global sales of SDHI fungicides were US$1.576 billion, a year-on-year increase of 14.9%, and the compound annual growth rate from 2010 to 2015 was as high as 29.8%. Among this type of products, trifenpyrmid, boscalid, benzoconazole, bifenfenpyr, and boscalid rank among the top five, accounting for 80.2% of the SDHI fungicide market.
Recently, Professor Liu Changling, chief scientist of Sinochem International Innovation Center, introduced more than 20 fungicide varieties worthy of focus.
Fluxapyroxad
Fluxapyroxad is an SDHI fungicide developed by BASF. It has excellent control over diseases on cereals, soybeans, corn and rapeseed. Effective and has very excellent systemic conduction activity. Both foliar sprays and seed treatments are available. Its dosage is 100-200g/hm2. In 2012, triflufenac was launched and achieved sales of US$95 million that year; sales increased rapidly to US$210 million in 2013; in 2014, it further increased to US$285 million; in 2015 In 2017, it continued to climb to US$390 million, and successfully surpassed BASF's own product boscalid and became the largest product among SDHI fungicides.
Boscalid
Boscalid is also an SDHI fungicide developed by BASF and launched in 2003. It is used to control powdery mildew, gray mold, various rot diseases, brown rot and root rot, etc. It has no cross-resistance with other fungicides. Its dosage is 285~770g/hm2. In 2012, the sales of boscalid were US$355 million; in 2014, it was US$390 million, reaching a record high; in 2015, its sales declined, reaching US$330 million U.S. dollars, thereby giving up its top position among SDHI fungicides for many years to triflufenac.
Benzovindiflupyr
Benzovindiflupyr is an SDHI fungicide developed by Syngenta and launched in 2013. Benzocondicloconazole has excellent control effect on Asian soybean rust; it also has good control effect on wheat leaf blight, peanut black spot, wheat total rot and wheat root rot, especially against wheat powdery mildew, It has special effects on corn leaf spot and gray mold; it can be compounded with a variety of fungicides and has no cross-resistance with other fungicides.
In 2015, the global sales of benzotrifluconazole were US$230 million, ranking third among SDHI fungicides.
Bifoxafen
Bixafen (bixafen) is an SDHI fungicide developed by Bayer and launched in 2010. It is used to control leaf spot and leaf rust diseases, and is expected to become an important variety for fungicide resistance management. Bayer expects peak annual sales of bifenzofen to exceed $430 million. In 2012, the global sales of bifenzofen were US$100 million; in 2014, they doubled to US$200 million; in 2015, their sales dropped by 2.5% year-on-year to US$195 million, but their compound sales from 2010 to 2015 The annual growth rate is as high as 149.9, ranking first in the growth list of SDHI fungicides.
Penflufen
Penflufen (penflufen) is also an SDHI fungicide developed by Bayer and launched in 2012. Mainly used for disease prevention and seed treatment on crops such as potatoes, rape, cotton, wheat and soybeans. In 2012, the global sales of triflufenazine were less than US$30 million; in 2014, sales were US$130 million; in 2015, they dropped 7.7% year-on-year to US$120 million.
Fluopicolide
Fluopicolide is a pyridinamide fungicide developed by Bayer, which can effectively prevent and control oomycete diseases, such as downy mildew and blight. etc., and has no cross-resistance with other fungicides. The dosage is 70~100g/hm2. Bayer has developed a compound product of fluopicolin and propamocarb hydrochloride in China, Silverfari (687.5 g/L fluopicolin·propamocarb suspension; 625 g/L propamocarb hydrochloride + 62.5 g/L fluopyram), which is very effective in controlling tomato late blight and cucumber downy mildew. In 2012, the global sales of fluopicolin were US$60 million; in 2015, the sales were US$50 million.
Fluopyram
Fluopyram is an SDHI fungicide developed by Bayer and launched in 2012. It is mainly used to control cabbage black spot, grape gray mold and barley net spot. It can also effectively control nematodes and is the only fungicide among SDHI products that can control nematodes. Bayer's 41.7 fluopyram suspension (trade name "Lu Fuda") registered in China not only controls cucumber powdery mildew, but also controls tomato root-knot nematodes by root irrigation. In 2014 and 2015, global sales of fluopyram were US$60 million.
pydiflumetofen
The trade name of pydiflumetofen is Adepidyn, and the development code is SYN545974. It is the latest pyrazole amide fungicide developed by Syngenta. It is a blockbuster product among the new generation of SDHI fungicides developed after , cyclostrobin and benzoconazole. In 2017, it was first launched in Argentina. Pydiflumetofen is used in many crops such as small grains, corn, soybeans and special vegetables to prevent and control gray mold, brown spot, sclerotinia, etc.; it also provides breakthrough prevention and control of diseases caused by Fusarium on cereals, such as head blight. Syngenta predicts that annual peak sales of pydiflumetofen will exceed US$750 million.
Isotianil
Isotianil is a thiazoleamide fungicide jointly developed by Bayer/Sumitomo Chemical and launched in 2010. Mainly used for nursery boxes and seed treatment to prevent and control rice blast. It can be compounded with imidacloprid, spinosad, thifuramide, etc. The dosage used is 100-300g/hm2. Sales in 2012 were <30 million US dollars; sales in 2015 were also <30 million US dollars, but the compound annual growth rate from 2010 to 2015 was as high as 65.7.
Fluoxastrobin
Fluoxastrobin is a methoxyacrylate fungicide developed by Bayer and launched in 2004.
The main target stem base diseases on cereals include diseases caused by Septoriaspp., Fusarium spp., moire disease, mildew and net spot. It has a wide application period. It can provide good protection and treatment for crops no matter in the early stage of fungal infection, such as spore germination, germ tube growth and infiltration into leaves, or in the mycelial growth stage. It is most effective for spore germination and initial infection. ; At the same time, it has excellent systemic activity and good resistance to rain erosion, and can be used for foliar spraying or seed treatment. The dosage is 125-150g/hm2. In 2014, the sales of fluoxastrobin were US$220 million; in 2015, the sales were US$200 million, with a compound annual growth rate of 7.4 from 2010 to 2015.
Orysastrobin
Orysastrobin is a methoxyacrylate fungicide developed by BASF and launched in 2007. Mainly used in rice to prevent and control rice sheath blight, rice blast, bakanae, etc. In 2014 and 2015, the sales of tristrostrobin were both <30 million US dollars; the compound annual growth rate from 2010 to 2015 was 14.9.
Metrafenone
Metrafenone is a diaryl ketone fungicide developed by BASF and launched in 2004. Mainly used in cereals and grapes to prevent and control powdery mildew and total rot. The dosage used is 75 to 150g/hm2. In 2012, the global sales of meclofenac were US$70 million; in 2015, the sales were US$60 million.
pyribencarb
pyribencarb is an oxime ether (or benzyl carbamate) fungicide developed by Combination Chemistry and launched in 2012. It is mainly used for fruit trees, tea trees and vegetables, etc., and has special effects on sclerotinia and gray mold. Its sales in 2012 were less than US$10 million; sales in 2015 were less than US$30 million.
tolprocarb
Tolprocarb is the latest amide (or carbamate) fungicide developed by Mitsui Chemicals and launched in 2015. Mainly used in rice to prevent and control rice blast. The dosage used is 900-1,200g/hm2. In 2015, tolprocarb’s sales were less than US$10 million.
flutianil
Flutianil is a fungicide developed by a Japanese chemical company and launched in 2015. Mainly used for fruits and vegetables to prevent and control powdery mildew. The dosage used is 20-70g/hm2. In 2015, flutianil’s sales were less than US$10 million.
oxathiapiprolin
oxathiapiprolin (test code DpX-QGU42; trade name "Zengwei Yinglu") is the first piperazine developed by DuPont Alkyl thiazole isozoline fungicides contain 4 heterocyclic rings in the molecule: azole, thiazole, piperidine and pyrazole; it was launched in 2015. Fluthiazol has a unique site of action and a new mechanism of action, and achieves bactericidal effects by inhibiting oxysterol-binding protein (OSBp). It has excellent control effect against Oomycete diseases and is mainly used on fruits and vegetables. It has special effects on downy mildew and late blight. It is slightly toxic and the dosage is extremely low. At present, fluthiazol is mainly used for spraying, and seed treatment is also one of the research and development directions. In 2015, the sales of fluthiazopyramide were less than US$10 million, and this product is expected to become another blockbuster fungicide for DuPont.
mefentrifluconazole
Mefentrifluconazole (trade name "Revysol") is the latest triazole fungicide developed by BASF and is expected to be launched in 2019. Mefentrifluconazole is BASF’s epoch-making new product. It is broad-spectrum, highly efficient, systemic, has eradication and protection effects, and exhibits excellent biological properties. It is expected to become an important tool for efficient disease control and will be used to slow down fungicide resistance. develop.
Research shows that Revysol has outstanding biological activity against many refractory fungal diseases and is suitable for many field crops and specialty crops around the world, such as corn, cereals, soybeans and cash crops. Revysol is more effective than prothioconazole and epoxiconazole.
fenpicoxamid
Fenpicoxamid (trade name "Inatreq") is a fungicide for cereals discovered and developed by Dow AgroSciences. It is the first of the new pyridinamide fungicides for cereals. 1 member. Fenpicoxamid exerts its bactericidal activity by inhibiting mitochondrial respiration at the binding site of fungal complex IIIQi ubiquinone (ie, coenzyme Q). This is a new target site that is different from that of all other cereal fungicides. Therefore, fenpicoxamid has no cross-resistance with any existing fungicides for cereals.
Mr. Tim Hassinger, global president and CEO of Dow AgroSciences, once said that the company's new fungicide Inatreq will further complete its fungicide product portfolio. In the field of Septorias pp. control, Inatreq is the first compound in the industry to provide a new site of action. The product will boost the company's sales in the European market, where resistance issues are becoming increasingly prominent.
Field trials have shown that at the recommended dosage, Inatreq can effectively control all important diseases on cereals, such as leaf blight and rust, and has a long-lasting effect. In addition to grains, Dow AgroSciences is also trying to register Inatreq for other crops, such as bananas. Dow AgroSciences expects to obtain the first registration of fenpicoxamid in 2018 and predicts that the product's annual peak sales will exceed US$200 million, and its market value will be US$1.50 billion.
Will the pesticide market continue to grow?
It is increasingly difficult to create new pesticides
According to Liu Changling, since 1980, the global crop pesticide market has grown with ups and downs. Among them, 1983 and 2006 are two valley points in history.
In the 15 years from 2001 to 2015, except for 2015, the pesticide market for various crops has almost shown a growth trend. Among them, fruits and vegetables, soybeans, cereals, corn and rice are the top five applied crops in the pesticide market.
Since 1996, genetically modified crops have grown faster than the growth of the global crop pesticide market. However, according to statistics, with the increase in the planting area of ??genetically modified crops, the use of pesticides has increased instead of falling. Like genetically modified cotton, although the amount of pesticides used to control bollworms has decreased, the amount of pesticides used to control aphids and pest mites has increased.
In 2015, in the global crop pesticide market of US$51.21 billion, herbicides remained the largest product type. The shares of herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and other pesticides were: 4.23, 28.0, 26.8 and 2.9 respectively; sales were: 21.644 billion, 14.330 billion, 13.713 billion and 1.523 billion US dollars respectively.
Liu Changling believes that the pesticide market will continue to grow in the next few years. It is estimated that from 2015 to 2020, the compound annual growth rate of the global crop pesticide market will be 2.7; herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides will all There has been growth, with the compound annual growth rates from 2015 to 2020 being: 2.6, 2.4, and 3.4 respectively. Among them, fungicides have the fastest growth. Genetically modified crops will also be in a growth trend, with a compound annual growth rate of 2.5 from 2015 to 2020.
The creation of new pesticides is still a difficult systematic project. Both time cost and financial investment are a lot of data.
Syngenta statistics show that it takes an average of nine years to launch a new pesticide, with 140,000 compounds screened and a total investment of US$260 million.
Basf’s statistics show that to successfully market a new compound, it takes an average of 140,000 compounds to be screened, which takes 10 years and requires 200 million euros in investment.
The latest research data from phillipsMcDougall Company shows that the cost of research and development of new pesticides has further increased to US$286 million, with an average of 160,000 compounds required to be screened, which lasted 11.3 years.
In short, it is becoming more and more difficult to create new pesticides. Especially in the later stage of toxicology testing, quite a few compounds that were screened in the early stage will be eliminated. At present, there are about 50 pesticide varieties created in my country, including 20 fungicides, 17 insecticides and acaricides, 7 herbicides, 4 plant growth regulators, and 1 antiviral agent.