40 I EUROPEAN SEED I EUROPEAN-SEED.COM I n the first part of this three-part series, we looked at the historical and recent evolution of crop protection. In part two, we examined the challenges in creating crop protec- tion products. In this final piece, we present current trends and future outlook. TOP TRENDS IN CROP PROTECTION PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT BIOLOGICALS One of the fastest growing areas of R&D among crop protec- tion companies is biologicals. “These are becoming increasingly important for all farmers – organic and conventional – to employ as part of their integrated pest management (IPM) strategy,” notes Will Surman of Crop Life International. Alyson Emanuel agrees that the development of biologi- cal solutions will continue to be an important trend given the rate of advancement in key dimensions such as scalability and stability. “Biologicals and chemicals can work together to give growers broader protection, an extended application window and better management of resistance and residues,” notes the business head of the Functional Crop Care unit in BASF Crop Protection. “For example, when Serifel (a foliar-applied biolog- ical fungicide that is based on the same active ingredient in our Integral seed-applied product) is used in an IPM program along with chemical-based active ingredients, it offers efficient prevention of fungal diseases.” Dan Turner, media relations lead at Dow/DuPont, echoes the sentiment. “Seed treatments, where combinations of technol- ogies such as traditional chemistries and biologicals are helping growers, both improve crop emergence and plant vigor,” he says. Head of External Communications at Bayer’s Crop Science division, Utz Klages, also predicts the launch of more biological products as well as the introduction of new high-performing chemical crop protection products in the future, which benefit growers and the food value chain through even better produce quality and environmental sustainability. The firm is working on the discovery and development of several new bacterial and fungal solutions for pest/disease management and increased crop efficiency. In addition, Bayer’s Biologics Group in West Sacramento, California opened a new lab space for biologics development in September 2017. The ‘Crop Science CoLaborator’ is the third ‘incubator’ space that Bayer has offered to start-up companies to help develop their technologies. One other major recent Bayer biologicals investment is the founding of a new company with biotech startup Ginko Bioworks. It will concen- trate on technologies to improve plant-associated microbes with a major focus on nitrogen fixation. This, Bayer believes, may THE IMPLICATIONS OF MASSIVE INDUSTRY CHANGES, FROM BIOLOGICAL PRODUCTS AND COMPANY MERGERS TO THE END OF PATENT PROTECTION OF SEVERAL MAJOR ACTIVE INGREDIENTS. BY: TREENA HEIN CROP PROTECTION PRODUCTS OVERVIEW – PART 3 FUTURE TRENDS AND OUTLOOK