Plant Health Management: Fungicides and Antibiotics

Abstract

The use of chemical fungicides to control plant diseases is an integral component of crop management. Fungicides have been used to good effect in agriculture since the 1940s, resulting in safe and effective control of plant diseases, contributing to the security of crop yields, and helping growers to farm cost-effectively. Some plant diseases have such a significant impact on the crop that they may be virtually impossible to grow economically without the use of fungicides. Industry has been very successful over recent decades in inventing and developing to the market new and effective fungicides, notably the benzimidazoles, dicarboxamides, azoles, strobilurins, and, more recently, the succinate dehydrogenase inhibitors to name only a few. The introduction of new fungicides is an essential element to provide sustained control of major crop diseases. The need for new and innovative fungicides is driven by resistance management, regulatory hurdles, and increasing customer expectations among others. These drivers themselves present special challenges for the agrochemical industry in the sustained invention and development of new solutions.