The Journey of New Chemistry BRINGING IMPROVED PRODUCTIVITY, LOWER COSTS AND IMPROVED SUSTAINABILITY TO OUR TURF MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS. With Michael De Luca, Technical manager Syngenta Professional Solutions Research & Development (R&D) companies like Syngenta continue to rise to the challenge of creating solutions to meet the needs of our customers and modern societal demands. Development is increasingly focused on improving product safety, negating environmental impacts, and adhering to high stewardship standards through close collaboration, to ensure solutions can be delivered for challenges now and in the future. Recently, we have seen a range of more efficient solutions that reduce the number of product required to be applied, either in frequency or volume, while still managing the issue at hand. These scientific developments provide a good economical outcome for turf managers and agricultural producers as these tools increase productivity and reduce costs, in a sustainable manner. Since the 1960’s we have seen a drastic reduction in the amount of active ingredient applied. When once we would have applied tens of kilograms per hectare, we now apply tens of grams per hectare for the same or better efficacy outcomes. This change is driven by new R&D chemistry
that has greater precision. But along with that precision and efficacy there is a range of additional benefits that new chemistry brings, such as longevity and product safety improvements. We often state today that we don’t find active ingredients “by chance” like we once may have. We design them with consideration; to be safe to operators and consumers, to be safe to the environment, as well as effective and easy to use, while also being cost effective. The ability to be able to design solutions means that we can tailor them to the end target; improving efficacy, toxicology and environmental profiles of products. Over the last 30 years we have lost 30% of active ingredients globally because they no longer work as effectively, or no longer meet society’s expectations. A recent example in our industry is the removal of chlorpyrifos from use on residential turf areas and areas accessible to the public. This was largely driven by its toxicological profile. But importantly there is a range of less impactful, more targeted insecticides on the market, that have a better environmental and operator fit, that can fill the space of this removal. One such product that you will be
familiar with is Acelepryn Insecticide which is exempt from poison scheduling and provides long residual control. To continue to meet the changing needs today, we need to design for the future, ensuring we have solutions to replace older chemistry as they are retired for a range of reasons. Today Syngenta invests around $1.3 billion per year into researching new solutions. This is our commitment to ensure solutions exist into the future. A single product takes around $300 million dollars of investment to bring to market including continued development and product support to move it into other uses. This development covers optimisation to reduce waste, environmental and toxicology profiling, as well as efficacy. Our development programs today are being designed for the needs anticipated for 5, 10, 15 even 20 years into the future. With such a long process we take into consideration what expectations and needs will likely be relevant in the future and design our actives to meet those needs. A great example of this continued investment is Syngenta’s newest SDHI Group 7 fungicide, Posterity, which was recently launched in the Australian turf
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