Our industry 2014 - (Page 54)

  54   04 Technology in agriculture   Crop protection products Herbicides   Herbicides control weeds that compete with crops for light and nutrients.  Without weed control, crop yield can be significantly reduced. Weeds can  also cause further problems by harboring pests and diseases, interfering with  harvest operations, and increasing costs of cleaning and drying the crop  produce. Herbicides reduce the need for cultivation and can also prevent soil  erosion and water loss. Herbicides can be divided in two categories: ■■ Selective herbicides: can be directly applied on specific crops to control  particular weeds without damaging the crop. ■■ Non-selective herbicides (NSH): eliminate all plants (if absorbed by green  tissue). Some NSHs can now be used in the same way as selective herbi  ides  c on crops that are genetically modified in order to make them tolerant to  specific herbicides. Growers also use non-selective herbicides when preparing  fields for new plantings, thus avoiding the need to plough the land. "No-till  agriculture" of this sort maintains soil structure and thus prevents erosion, as  well as reducing emissions from ploughing tractors.  2012 global crop protection market by product Fungicides  Fungicides prevent and cure fungal diseases which can have severe adverse  effects on crop yield and quality. The main markets today are fruits and  vegetables, cereals and rice. Plant diseases are caused by a great variety of  pathogens. Accordingly, this requires many products used in combination   or series to control the full range of problems in ways that minimize the chance  of resistance building up. Insecticides   Insects such as caterpillars and aphids can significantly reduce crop yield   and quality through their feeding. Insecticides help minimize this damage   by controlling insect pests. The largest insecticide markets are in fruits and  vegetables, cotton, rice and corn. In addition to their use in agriculture,   insec icides play an important role in public health programs to control insectt transmitted diseases like malaria. Seed treatment  Seed treatments are chemical or biological substances or physical processes  applied to seeds or seedlings. They help to protect the seeds and assure  optimum emergence of the crop. Application of a chemical to seeds is a very  well-targeted method of reducing pest and disease attacks on the growing plant. ~US$ 49 billion Selective herbicides Fungicides Insecticides Non-selective herbicides Seed treatment 29% 26% 27% 15% 3% Source: Syngenta Without fungicides,   yields of most fruits and   vegetables would fall   by 50-90%, making fresh  produce unaffordable   to many 

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Our industry 2014

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