Recent Developments in Pesticide Creation


China is a large agricultural country with a big population.
Pesticide is one of the effective means to control diseases,
pests, weeds and rats and a guarantee for the bumper harvest of
grains. Sandwiched by the intellectual property protection and
the global economic integration, China made investments and
established two pesticide creation centers, one in the north and
one in the south, during the Ninth Five-year Plan period
(1996-2000). The Ministry of Science and Technology has included
the "development of key technologies for the creation research
and commercialization of new pesticides" in the sci-tech major
projects of the Tenth Five-year Plan (2001-2005). A further
development in the creation of new pesticides has therefore been
promoted. With the firm support from the state, pesticide
creation in China has already made some achievements.


  Creation organizations
and employees


The National South Pesticide Creation Center is composed of four
bases including Shanghai Research Institute of Pesticides
(Shanghai Base), Jiangsu Research Institute of Pesticides
(Jiangsu Base), Hunan Research Institute of Chemical Industry
(Hunan Base) and Zhejiang Research Institute of Chemical
Industry (Zhejiang Base). In the north, Pesticide National
Engineering & Research Center (Shenyang) and Pesticide National
Engineering & Research Center (Tianjin) were established in
Shenyang Research Institute of Chemical Industry and the
Research Institute of Elemento-Organic Chemistry of Nankai
University. More than 200 scientific and technical personnel
work in these 6 national pesticide research and development
bases. Besides, there are also employees engaged in planning,
management and information.
   China Agricultural University, Huazhong Normal University
and Nanjing Agricultural University are not only places of
talents but also undertake some work of pesticide technical
creation. Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry subordinate
to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Process
Engineering subordinate to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the
Institute of Plant Protection subordinate to the Chinese Academy
of Agricultural Sciences, Sichuan Research and Design Institute
of Chemical Industry, Anhui Research Institute of Chemical
Industry and Shandong Research Institute of Pesticides have
special persons engaged in the research and development of
pesticides. Pesticide producers with strong economic capability
such as Jiangsu Yangnong Chemical Co., Ltd., Nantong Jiangshan
Agrochemical & Chemicals Limited Liability Co., Zhejiang Xinan
Chemical Group Co., Ltd. and Dalian Raiser Pesticides Co., Ltd.
also pay great attention to the creation of pesticides. They have
set up specialized technical development centers and assigned
special persons to conduct the research and development of
pesticides. According to preliminary statistics, around 1 000
technical personnel in China are engaged in the creation of
pesticides today. A young pesticide creation contingent with
complete specialties and rational age structure has been formed.


   Creation facilities
and capabilities


China put several dozen million RMB during the Ninth Five-year
Plan period (1996-2000) to improve hardware facilities in the
6 bases of the two pesticide creation centers. The level and
capability in the creation of new pesticides has been raised.
With the support from sci-tech projects of the state, the
creation efficiency has been greatly improved through the
combination between chemical and biological technologies. The
capacity for the synthesis of new compounds in China has reached
20 000 pieces a year and the capacity for the screening of new
compounds and strains has reached more than 30 000 pieces a year.
2 - 3 new pesticide varieties a year on average get pesticide
temporary registration at the Ministry of Agriculture.


   Creation achievements


21 new pesticide varieties with intellectual property right have
got pesticide temporary registration at the Ministry of
Agriculture and started to enter the market. The situation of
long-time dependence on the imitation of foreign products to
maintain existence and development has been changed. New
pesticide enterprises geared to pesticide creation such as
Shenyang Research Institute of Chemical Industry have emerged.
   The 21 commercialized new pesticide varieties include 5
insecticides, 9 fungicides, 5 herbicides and 2 plant growth
regulators. Fungicide flumorph has completed all the four stages
of sanitary toxicological evaluation and hopefully get
registration at the end of 2005. More than 1 000 tons of
single-component formulations and multi-component formulations
have been produced. They have been used more than 667 000 ha
(including reused land area) and a sales revenue of nearly RMB100
million has been accomplished. Flumorph is the first creation
fungicide with intellectual property right in China. It has
already won several invention patents in China, the United
States and Europe and the second invention prize of the state.
The application dissemination of new varieties will surely
promote the effective implementation of the "plan for reducing
the output of high-toxicity pesticides" made by the Chinese
Government, help improve the industrial structure and the
product structure of the pesticide industry and provide
technical guarantee for the solution of problems related to
agriculture.
   In the creation research of new pesticides, a group of new
compounds with low toxicity, great safety and high activity of
insect, pest and weed killing and plant growth regulating are
at different test stages of pesticide creation. 8 of them are
conducting field tests and toxicological evaluation tests
according to registration requirements raised by the Ministry
of Agriculture. They can hopefully get temporary registration
or acquire conditions for temporary registration at the end of
the Tenth Five-year Plan period (2001-2005). These compounds
with high activity will lay a foundation for the sustainable
development of pesticide creation in China.
   While developing new varieties, the pesticide creation
system in China has also made a constant improvement. The
Standard Operation Procedures (SOP) for Biological Activity
Measurement has been established. The Standard for Indoor
Biological Activity Measurement is ready to be submitted to the
Ministry of Agriculture. The Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) for
Pesticide Toxicological Safety Evaluation has been established.
Toxicological safety evaluation has been included in the
ministerial standard NY/T718-2003 issued by the Ministry of
Agriculture. A market projection and risk evaluation system for
creation pesticide varieties with Chinese characteristics is in
shaping.


   Existing problems


In spite of the remarkable progress made in pesticide creation,
there is still a considerable gap compared with the advanced
level in foreign countries. Problems are mainly in the following
aspects:
   (1) The foundation of creation is weak and the work of
creation needs further improvement.
   (2) Creation funds are inadequate, enterprises have no
capability to shoulder all the risks in creation and pesticide
creation can not be done without the guidance