Bayer (CropKey) support regenerate agriculture! A number of new pesticide compounds in the R&D pipeline are coming to market!

Recently, at the 2024 Bayer Crop Science Innovation Summit, Bayer announced that it will launch ten major innovative products for the agricultural development prospects of the next decade to provide strong support for growers around the world. This includes the Bayer CropKey innovative product.

In recent years, the development and application of digital technology has pressed the "acceleration key" for the world's scientific and technological revolution and industrial change, and has injected a fresh vitality into the development of modern agriculture, so that agricultural participants begin to have a new look at the future of agriculture, and stimulate more diversified needs and imagination. 

Previously, Bayer introduced a new breakthrough method to global growers - the Bayer CropKey. At present, CropKey has announced a series of breakthrough application results, combined with Bayer's rich product development pipeline layout, once again inject surging momentum into the development of renewable agriculture

In the early days, when scientists screened for the proteins needed to change or suppress weeds and pests, they often needed manual manipulation and control. The CropKey method breaks through this traditional model - in the study of crop protection compounds, Bayer researchers can effectively use virtual screening and computational modeling technology to design new molecules that perfectly match the target protein to meet the agronomic needs of farmers and expectations for human and environmental safety. Today, Bayer is using the CropKey method to complete the entire application of the R&D pipeline, with more than three times the number of new mechanisms of action a decade ago, and continues to bring breakthrough innovations in crop protection.

″Dr. Bob Reiter, Global Head of Research and Development at Bayer Cropscience: "CropKey's new approach offers new opportunities for precision, safety and sustainability, exceeding current standards and setting a new benchmark for the industry."

New post-emergence herbicide Icafolin: Give growers new options for integrated weed management 

Bayer's Icafolin product is the first new post-emergence herbicide for field crops in three decades. At the same time, Icafolin will be the first product to adopt CropKey's approach, officially announcing that CropKey's approach has moved from concept to reality.

Icafolin is expected to launch first in Brazil in 2028, before expanding to other countries, with a peak sales potential of more than 750 million euros. The active ingredient kills a wide range of weeds, including major resistant weeds, such as ryegrass, beef weed, and two-ear grass, as well as difficult weeds, such as amaranth. Icafolin will initially be applied to soybeans, but will also be available in several market segments such as cotton, corn, sunflower and horticulture, providing growers with new options for integrated weed management.

The first ketoenol insecticide Plenexos: Start a new chapter in crop protection 

Bayer will also introduce the first ketoenol insecticide, Plenexos, an innovative insecticide for foliar and soil application, which is expected to be available from 2025, and CropKey will also be used in this product. 

Plenexos has a wide range of crop applications for field and horticultural crops, including soybeans, cotton, fruit trees and vegetables, and can be adapted to a variety of scenarios. At the same time, Plenexos is versatile and can be flexibly applied to future product portfolios, with an estimated peak sales potential of around €500 million, making it an excellent choice for growers to protect their crops.

New broad spectrum fungicide: Eliminate the impact of multi-crop, multi-market diseases 

Another product developed by the CropKey method is a broad-spectrum fungicide with a new mechanism of action for the control of leaf spot fungi in key markets, with potential applications extending from horticulture to cereals, rapeseed and seed treatment. The product is currently in the second stage of development and is expected to have a peak sales potential of more than 200 million euros. 

In addition, the pipeline includes a new broad-spectrum fungicide whose mechanism of action can be applied to cereals, corn, fruits and vegetables on a global scale. The product, which has the ability to control multiple diseases and is suitable for multiple market sectors, is currently in the third stage of development with a peak sales potential of more than €1 billion.

In addition, to help growers make the right decisions among these many choices, Bayer is developing technologies and tools with strong data-driven support to enable growers to be well-targeted when selecting crop protection products for application. Delaro Showcase, currently in pre-commercial development, is a unique data science-driven solution that will predict product performance and provide field advice on the use of corn and soybean fungicides to help growers make crop management decisions and better respond to changing diseases.