Technical staffs at the bioassay-supported greenhouse of Shandong Binnong Technology in Bincheng District of Binzhou City are watching closely the results of experimental pesticide applications. This is a smart greenhouse with a floor area of 1,200m2, built by Shandong Binnong Technology in 2011 at a cost of 3 million yuan. This is the largest agrochemical smart temperature-controlled greenhouse constructed in steel structure. Over the last five years, the facility has played a solid role in the development and achievement of technical innovations in Shandong Binnong Technology.
The greenhouse is equipped with advanced automatic control systems, including the ASS-4 smart spray tower and micro-spraying hose irrigation system, which were introduced in 2012. The ASS-4 smart spray tower is currently the most accurate indoor spraying instrument in China. The bioassay work team of Shandong Binnong Technology worked for 4 years with the advanced equipment to facilitate the company’s screening of the new formula and testing of superior adjuvant and its new compound.
Yan Yong, the sales vice general manager of Shandong Binnong Technology, told AgroPages that the initial purpose of building the smart greenhouse was to use the information available from research institution and market survey to conduct holographic simulation of field temperature and humidity conditions to verify the result and work out solutions. In this way, the company’s product development is maintained in a proactive way. Yan said that the board chairman Huang Yanchang of the company calls bioassay “an eye of Shandong Binnong Technology focusing on pesticide.” The establishment of the smart greenhouse is a reflection of the company’s close attention to the early-stage experimental validation before the product is launched in the market.
At present, Shandong Binnong Technology has achieved fruitful results with respect to the development of the new formulation product, covering 10 kinds of environment-friendly water-borne formulations, which have been developed and released to the market. These products have generated considerable economic benefits. The company has currently more than 20 varieties under development or being registered, which are all environment-friendly new formulations such as SC, OF and WDG. The proportion of these formulations in the product portfolio of the company has been increasing year by year. The company has been working on upgrading old EC products, i.e., environment-friendly rosin oil, methyl ester oil and vegetation oil are used to replace the organic solvent in emulsified oil. This approach enables old formulations to be rejuvenated for new applications in environment-protected and efficacy-improved manners.
Furthermore, the company is dedicating itself to development of new formulations and compounds. Although development of new compounds takes time, effort and higher cost, the company has never stopped its hard work on innovation and exploration in this regard.
Shandong Binnong Technology is confident that the future pesticide formulations will be developed towards the orientation of safe, environment-friendly, low-toxic and labor-saving applications. A company ought to give more input into research and continue to make innovation not only in new formulations but also in new applications, such as the innovative application of old pesticide for control of resistant weeds and insect pests, as well as safety of pesticides for application to new crop fields for control of weeds and insect pests.