China has become a major producer of pesticides.

Release Date:

2019-03-23

In recent years, pesticide development in China has largely relied on imitation. Following China’s accession to the WTO, such imitative efforts have faced significant restrictions: certain highly active pesticide products can only be synthesized and produced after their exclusive protection periods have expired. Moreover, with foreign companies safeguarding their proprietary synthesis processes, applications, and formulation technologies, the task of developing generic pesticides in China has become increasingly challenging. Beginning in the 1950s, several Chinese research institutes embarked on the discovery and development of new pesticides. In the early 1950s, Mr. Mei Binfu at the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, leveraged garlic’s remarkable biological activity to isolate methyl and isopropyl compounds from garlic.

In recent years, pesticide development in China has been dominated by generic formulations. Following China’s accession to the WTO, such generic production has come under significant restrictions, and certain highly active… Pesticide products Only after the active ingredient’s patent protection period has expired can synthesis and production proceed; moreover, with foreign companies safeguarding their proprietary synthesis processes, applications, and formulation‑mixing technologies, the task of developing generic pesticides in China becomes exceedingly challenging.

Starting in the 1950s, several research institutes in China began engaging in the development of new agrochemicals. In the early 1950s, Mr. Mei Binfu at the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, leveraged garlic’s remarkable biological activity to isolate methyl and isopropyl allyl sulfides from garlic. However, he recognized that methanol, used as a raw material, posed significant toxicity risks to workers, while n‑propanol and isopropanol were both scarce and costly in China. Ultimately, he opted for ethanol—abundant, inexpensive, and relatively safe in China—and successfully developed China’s first domestically pioneered compound. Pesticide — Ethyl allicin.

In 1963, this compound was put into production at the Shanghai Pesticide Factory, becoming China’s first domestically developed pesticide. Shortly thereafter, several other pesticide research institutions in China also actively embarked on the development of new agrochemicals. In light of the country’s technological capabilities and economic conditions at the time, Xu Yikuan, the inaugural director of the Shanghai Institute of Pesticide Research, proposed the guiding principle of “primarily imitation, with innovation embedded within,” and in the 1970s established, within the institute, the “Agricultural Antibiotics Laboratory” led by Shen Yinchu. This initiative sought to pursue novel pesticide development from a biological perspective, resulting in the successive creation of jinggangmycin, liuyangmycin, avermectin, ivermectin, changchuanmycin, and jinhua mycin, among others.

Since then, the aforementioned research institutes and universities have tirelessly pursued the development of new agrochemicals. To broaden the scope of such efforts, in the late 1990s, Liu Changling of the Shenyang Research Institute of Chemical Industry, through structural modification, created China’s most significant proprietary compound. Fungicide — Flumorph. To further accelerate the development of new agrochemicals in China and address the fragmented, isolated approach to research, at the initiative and with the support of Chinese Academy of Engineering Academicians Li Zhengming and Shen Yinchu, a national conference dedicated to establishing a specialized program for agrochemical innovation—the “Xiangshan Conference”—was convened in Xiangshan, Beijing, in 2002. In 2003, the Ministry of Science and Technology launched the “973 Project on Agrochemical Innovation,” with Qian Xuhong, President of East China University of Science and Technology, serving as the chief expert. This project brought together leading researchers in agrochemical science from more than a dozen universities and research institutes across the country. Owing to its remarkable achievements, the project was extended into two successive phases, spanning a total of ten years, during which over thirty novel agrochemical compounds were developed. This not only positioned China as a major global force in agrochemical innovation but also fostered a substantial pool of scientific talent; notably, during this period, Qian Xuhong and Song Bao’an were elected as Academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

Today, China has become a major global producer of pesticides. Thanks to sustained efforts in the research and development of new agrochemicals, China has emerged as a leading force in contemporary pesticide R&D, surpassing other countries both in the discovery of novel active ingredients and in the development of cutting-edge formulations.

Source: China Pesticide Network

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