6 I EUROPEAN SEED I EUROPEAN-SEED.COM In the first part of this three-part article, we look at the historical and recent evolution of crop protection. In part two, we’ll examine the chal- lenges in creating crop protection products, and in the final piece, we’ll present current trends and future outlook. C rop protection products receive a great deal of attention in the media today, and it’s not always easy to separate fact from fiction. One thing we can say with certainty is that crop protection has evolved enormously over its history, and that we have depended on crop pro- tection products for our very survival for dozens of generations. “We know that an adequate, reliable food supply cannot be guaranteed without the use of crop protection products,” observes Will Surman, spokesperson for CropLife International, the global advocate for the plant science industry. “Today’s food crops must compete with 30,000 species of weeds, 3,000 species of nematodes and 10,000 spe- cies of plant-eating insects.” “We know that an adequate, reliable food supply cannot be guaranteed without the use of crop protection products.” Indeed, it’s a stark reality check to consider that even with the world’s newest technologies, notes Brian Carroll, as much as 40 per cent of the world’s potential harvests are lost to damaging pests. “These pests include weeds, which steal nutrients, water and sunlight from crops,” explains the spokesperson for Monsanto Europe. “And with- out modern crop protection tools, including herbi- cides, current crop losses could double.” A CLOSE LOOK AT HOW CROP PROTECTION HAS EVOLVED OVER THE CENTURIES TO ENSURE FOOD PRODUCTION KEEPS PACE WITH HUMANITY’S GROWTH. BY: TREENA HEIN Some people think that crop protection involves farmers simply applying chemicals to their crops to manage pests, but that’s not the case, Surman explains. “If farmers are to tackle crop pests sustainably they need to use a wide variety of tools and techniques through an integrated pest management (IPM) strategy,” he says. “IPM is a system of prevention (anticipating pest threats and taking action to prevent populations from grow- ing to a destructive level), monitoring (using both new technology and traditional practices to keep a close eye on weed, insect and disease threats in the field) and management – using many different tools and techniques to safely control pests when they threaten to destroy our food supply.” ORIGINS OF CROP PROTECTION Before we look at more recent developments in the field of crop protection, let’s first take a look back at its long history. It’s not generally known that human use of innovative crop protection products goes back several millennia, with the first recorded insecticide being referenced about 4,500 years ago – the Sumarians use of sulfur compounds to con- trol insects and mites. From then until now – in addition to crop management methods like rotation, removing morning dew to curb fungal disease spread, till- age – ancient farmers tried magic, prayer, living a virtuous life, rituals and more, but they came to rely on crop protection products. From ancient times to today, some examples are pyrethrum from dried Chrysanthemum flowers and nicotine extract from tobacco plants. From 1750 to about 1880, according to CropLife, farmers began using crop protection products more widely, and international trade began to make both the use of plant- and met- al-based insecticides more common. “Until the early 1900s, Europe and the U.S. used compounds made with sulfur, iron, copper, arsenic and sodium to control weeds in cereal crops and fungus in grapes,” notes Jan C. Zadoks and H. Waibeu in an article in the Netherlands Journal of Agricultural Science. They explain that an organic arsenic com- WHY IT MATTERS A lot has happened since mankind started using crop protection products. Society has changed, as well as industry. Over the years, as a result of research and innovation, application rates and toxicity levels have decreased while at the same time, more and more environmental and social impact studies have become available. There is a higher demand for seed applied technologies, including of biologicals-based seed treatments and biological inoculants. Unfortunately, the average cost of developing a new crop protection product has increased to well over 200 million Euro. Research has shown that an adequate, reliable food supply cannot be guaranteed without the use of crop protection products and crop protection products are vital for human survival. CROP PROTECTION PRODUCTS OVERVIEW – PART 1 – HISTORIC AND RECENT CHANGES