Integrated Pest Management (IMP) Pheromones Market Worth $1.54 billion by 2028

According to a new market research report, published by Meticulous Research, the integrated pest management pheromones market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12.3% from 2021 to 2028 to reach $1.54 billion by 2028.

Integrated pest management (IPM) is an effective and environmentally sensitive approach that relies on a combination of practices. IPM pheromones are used to trap, catch, or kill insect pests, including sex, aggregation, and alarm pheromones. The growth of this market is driven by key factors such as the rising need to increase agricultural production, favorable government initiatives & reforms/policies, rising awareness regarding the advantages of IPM pheromone technologies, and growing public concerns over the potential health hazards of synthetic pesticides.

Impact of COVID-19 on the Integrated Pest Management Pheromones Market

The COVID-19 pandemic moderately affected the agriculture sector, making it difficult to assess the pandemic’s impact on the integrated pest management pheromones market. However, the COVID-19 pandemic heavily impacted the overall agrichemical or crop protection products industry. The global lockdown and quarantine affected the manufacture and supply chain of plant protection products (PPP), disrupted crop protection activities worldwide. Plant protection products include conventional pesticides, biopesticides, bees for pollination, and other beneficial arthropods employed for biological control. A similar impact has been assumed on the IPM pheromones market. The use of integrated pest management pheromones typically requires human labor. Most of the countries also witnessed a shortage of human labor. As a result, labor shortages impacted the demand for IPM pheromone products.

However, these factors are expected to have only a temporary impact on the IPM pheromones market, as investments in integrated pest control strategies may increase as a part of the broader move toward ensuring food security, sustainable agricultural production, and more robust supply chains.

Integrated Pest Management Pheromones Market: Future Outlook

the global integrated pest management pheromones market is segmented on the basis of product (pheromone traps and pheromone lures), type (sex pheromones, aggregation pheromones, alarm pheromones, and other pheromones), pest type (moths, beetles, fruit flies, and other pests), function (mating disruption, mass trapping, and detection & monitoring), application (agriculture and non-agricultural applications), and geography (North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa).

Based on product, the pheromone traps segment is estimated to account for the largest share of the overall integrated pest management pheromones market in 2021. The large share of this segment is mainly attributed to rising agricultural production worldwide. The global Agricultural Total Factor Productivity (TFP) is growing at an average annual rate of 1.63%. The 2020 GAP report also suggests that to sustainably double the production of food, fiber, feed, and bioenergy needed to sustain nearly 10 billion people by 2050, agricultural productivity needs to increase at an average annual rate of 1.73%, which is higher than the current growth rate. Thus, rising agricultural production is expected to drive the demand for pheromone traps in the forecast period. However, the pheromone lures segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Factors attributing to this segment's growth are raising agricultural production worldwide and increasing government support agricultural activities.

Based on type, the sex pheromones segment is estimated to account for the largest share of the overall integrated pest management pheromones market in 2021. The large share of this segment is mainly attributed to recent developments in pheromone research and the rising awareness about pheromone applications in integrated pest management. Sex pheromones are widely used in integrated pest management. Recent developments in sex pheromone research (mechanisms of sex pheromone perception and its practical application in agricultural pest management) support the adoption of sex pheromones in agricultural pest management. For instance, in January 2021, scientists from ISCA, Inc. (U.S.) collaborated with research teams of Lund University (Swedish Agricultural University) and the University of Nebraska, Lincoln (U.S.) to grow insect sex pheromone precursors successfully in genetically modified strains of camelina plants and create a low-cost source of pheromones needed for sustainable pest control. However, the alarm pheromones segment is expected to showcase the fastest growth rate in the forecast period. Factor attributing to this segment's growth is the growing adoption of alarm pheromones in integrated pest management practices. These pheromones trigger alarm behaviors in insects as a response to possible predation. Alarm pheromones cause insects to rapidly disperse in different directions. Due to alarm pheromones, aphids stop feeding, walkthrough pesticides, and fall off the plant to escape possible predation. Similarly, synthetic alarm pheromones trigger increased activity in aphids, increasing their mortality from coming in contact with insecticides or fungal spores.

Based on pest type, the moths segment is estimated to account for the largest share of the integrated pest management pheromones market in 2021. The segment is also expected to show the fastest growth rate in the forecast period. Factor attributing towards the growth of this segment is the growing adoption of pheromones for controlling moth populations. A moth is a serious pest that affects agricultural plants. For example, the diamondback moth affects cruciferous vegetables. Female diamondback moths can deposit up to 150 eggs on average. Larval instars feed on foliage and growing parts of young plants and bore into flower buds, which results in skeletonized leaves, stunting of the plants, or failure of head formation in some hosts. Integrated pest management (IPM) generally uses mating disruption pheromone for controlling moth populations.

Based on function, the mating disruption segment is estimated to account for the largest share of the integrated pest management pheromones market in 2021. The large share of this segment is mainly attributed to rising agricultural production and growing awareness regarding pheromones in various agricultural applications. However, the mass trapping segment is expected to witness the fastest growth rate in the forecast period. Mass trapping is a method in IPM programs for reducing pest numbers by luring pests to a pheromone trap and then killing them. For instance, commonly used pheromones against Lepidoptera are sex pheromones that attract only males. Mass trapping of males would leave nearly all females unmated, making it difficult for female flies to find mates and lay eggs. If a male insect can mate with ten females in a lifetime, then up to 90% of the male population can be mass trapped using sex pheromones.

Based on application, the agriculture segment is expected to show the fastest growth rate in the forecast period. Factors attributing to this segment's growth are rising global agricultural productivity and the large-scale production of ornamental plants and flowers. Integrated pest management pheromones are used for farming ornamental crops to get rid of insect pests as they can cause heavy damage to ornamental flowers, reducing the flowers’ market value. Countries such as the Netherlands and France are the leading producers of ornamental plants and flowers globally. For example, in 2019, the production value of ornamental plants and flowers in the Netherlands was USD 2,664.2 million, 2.1% higher than the previous year. The large-scale production of ornamental plants and flowers further boosts the demand for integrated pest management pheromones.